Long Haul
by ElasticMonk41
Summary: A Marauders and Jily/Lames story starting with Snape's Worst Memory. This is a story about them having fun and fighting off the dark arts and the coming war. This is a long story, not quick fix. James, Lily, Sirius, Peter, Remus, Marlene McKinnon, Mary McDonald, Alice Prewett, Dorcas Meadows, Frank Longbottom, and Severus Snape. M for language and situations. Cover Image by Blvnk
1. Chapter 1

...

The Incident

…

 _"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!"_ Lily's heart sank. James wanted to rip Snape's head off.

 _Lily blinked._ After all these years? She thought. _"Fine," she said coolly. "I won't bother in the future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, Snivellus."_ James' blood boiled.

 _"Apologize to Evans!" James roared at Snape, his wand pointed threateningly at him._ I'll kill him. I really will kill him. James thought.

 _"I don't want_ you _to make him apologize," Lily shouted, rounding on James. "You're as bad as he is…"_

 _"What?" yelped James. "I'd NEVER call you a- you-know-what!"_

 _"Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool like you've just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down the corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can – I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK."_

James was stopped by Remus before he could pull Severus' pants off. Saying it was demeaning enough being up there and he really didn't want Lily coming back and putting everyone in the crowd and especially them in detention, because if she didn't he might have to. James pulled the curse off only because Sirius really didn't feel like seeing Snivellus' junk. James couldn't help but think that he should go fight the lake squid.

Lily on the other hand was in the first-floor girl's loo with Myrtle annoying her. "I thought I'd come here because no one could see me crying," she snapped at Myrtle.

"That's what I thought too," Myrtle teased. Lily sniffled and really wanted to punch the ghost.

"Go away, Myrtle," Lily begged. "Please, I just came from… I was just called… Just let me cry for five minutes," she snapped. Myrtle sung some random song and flew above the stalls.

"Tell you what. If you tell me what happened, I'll go to the Prefect bathroom for ten minutes, but you better be gone by the time I come back," she wagered.

"I was called a Mudblood by my best friend, happy, now leave." Lily turned her back to the ghost and bit her lip to hold herself from crying for one minute longer.

"Who was it?" Myrtle asked.

"Myrtle!" Lily roared. "You promised!"

"I'll leave once you tell me who was it." Myrtle flew through Lily before giving her a look.

"Severus Snape." Lily felt her face fall and a few tears slipped out. Her best friend.

"Severus? He's such a kind fellow. Well. I'll go see if I can find him. Give him a taste of his own medicine." Myrtle fake punched the air around her.

"No, Myrtle!" Lily stood up and banged the stall door open. "Do not tell anyone I came in here, do you hear me?" she growled.

"And what are you going to do to me if I don't?"

"You fancy James Potter right?" Lily asked. Everyone knew this. Any girl that dared come into the first floor girls loo knew Moaning Myrtle fancied James Potter, said he looked very similar to a boy she once knew in life. A boy that was very kind to her and good at potions.

"What could you tell me about him that I don't already know?" Myrtle stayed around.

"I could tell you when he next goes to the loo." Lily felt this was a weak wager, but if Myrtle loved Potters as much as Lily thought, she'd go for it.

"You'd come all the way here just to tell me?" Myrtle was interested this was good.

"Yes. Or I'd send a first year. They'll tell you Lily sent them." Myrtle nodded and flew away singing some song. Lily's lip trembled then she felt the hot tears roll down her face. Sobs came out of her that were pulled from deep within.

It took Marlene and Mary what seemed like hours to find Lily. They checked their dorm room, the common room, the library, all the bathrooms, even Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, but Lily wasn't there. They finally gave up on their hunt and went back to the common room just to find Lily sitting there reading a book.

"Lily!" Marlene shouted. She ran over to one of her closest friends and embraced her. "Where have you been?" she asked. Lily shrugged.

"I was in Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. then I went to the lake with you, then I broke up a fight between Potter and Severus, then I went to the bathroom, the library to study, our room to grab a book, and now here in my chair where I normally am." Lily conveniently left out the bits that would stay with her for the rest of her life.

"Where did you go after the incident with Snape?" Mary asked. Lily sucked in a deep breath. She watched the fire for a Moment.

"I told you, I went to the bathroom." She turned back to her book.

"We checked the bathrooms, you weren't there."

"Maybe we just weren't there at the same time." Lily shrugged off the hand on her shoulder. "That's bound to happen in a castle this big."

"What we mean to say," Marlene sighed, "is are you okay? After what happened?" Lily shrugged. "With Severus? I know he meant a lot to you and you must be hurt-."

"He didn't mean anything to me. I was just trying to stop Potter from being the toe-headed bully he always is." Lily shut her book and stormed up the stairs to their dorm room. Marlene and Mary followed her after a moment.

"Will she ever admit it?" Mary asked.

"She has to." Marlene shrugged. She sat on Lily's bed instead of her own. Lily was in the same reading position she had been before just a little more aggravated this time. "Lily, you can tell us what you really think about all this. We're your friends."

Lily slammed her book down again. "You want to know what I really think about all this?" she asked. Mary and Marlene hesitantly nodded their heads. "I think Snape meant every word he said, but he's going to apologize and think I should forgive him. This has been coming a long time. I've felt it. With Mulciber and Avery as his closest friends. All the spells he won't share with me, now. I know they exist. He writes them in his note book detailing what they do to people, but he won't show me or tell me. He loves the Dark Arts. He's always been fond of it, but it's been this growing tumor on his head, and now, now I don't think it's a tumor it's just his head. This pure-blood supremacy thought, it's really what he believes. After all these years of telling me, I wasn't what they called me. I'm just as good as everyone else. It's all been a lie!" Lily flung her hands in the air.

"I've been lied to for the better part of my existence. And of course, of course it has to be James Fucking Potter that has to go and get Severus to finally admit it all. Because what better way to humiliate me than use the boy who humiliates me almost _daily_ by asking me out. And of _course_ this same boy is Severus' arch nemesis like those exists in normal people's lives." Lily took a moment to breathe deeply.

Marlene opened her mouth to say something, but Lily held up a finger. "I am humiliated weekly by Potter. It's not a form of flattering to constantly have to deny someone something they don't really want but they act like they want. He _acts_ like he wants me. He teases me with these overdone proposals to go to Hogesmeade or eat dinner with him or take a stroll. He knows I will _never_ say yes, but he still asks me out! Because he knows I hate it and he knows it annoys me to no end. Because I have to say no when I never want to. Because I have to deny him something he 'really' wants." She air quoted with her fingers. Marlene wanted to stop her. Mary wanted to stop her. But there would be no stopping Lily Evans from a long out due rant.

"Because he doesn't really want to go out with me. He just loves teasing me. He doesn't love me." Lily ran her hands through her hair. "Don't tell me I'm wrong. I was already wrong about Severus. I'm _not_ wrong about Potter." She took her book and threw it onto the ground. There was silence for a minute.

"Are you done?" Mary asked. Lily finally looked up at them.

"Yes," she huffed.

"Well then I'm glad," Marlene said as she wrinkled her nose. "You're not forgiving Snape, right?" she asked.

"No. Not now, not ever." Lily shook his head sure of herself. She had made up her mind the second that word left his mouth.

"Finally," Mary exclaimed. She fell back on her bed. "He's so gross. I hate looking at him let alone trying to make conversation over lunch." She raised her arms to the air and groaned shaking them.

"Mary," Marlene said through clenched teeth. Lily frowned deeply.

"I knew you guys didn't like him," Lily mumbled. "But you _really_ didn't like him?" she asked. She looked Mary and Marlene in the eyes.

"Lily," Marlene stated. She gave her a look. "When people call him greasy, they mean it." She wrinkled her nose again. Lily rolled her eyes.

"He's not exactly well washed but he never smells bad. And-." She paused and glared at her hands. "You know what he always had this weird smell about him ever since I met him," she spit in spite.

"Yes! Finally!" Mary sat up. "You get it. It's like you've been blind all this time." Lily still frowned.

"This is a good thing, Lily," Marlene said. Lily nodded.

"No. I know that. Just. Thinking. I really didn't see it for such a _long_ time. He lied to me!" Marlene nodded her head.

"We all kind of picked up on that, Lily." Mary smiled weakly. "This is just like you taking forever to realize he was friends with Avery and Mulciber. You didn't realize he had more friends and not only you until like third year."

"No." Lily shook her head. "I realized when he was getting letters during the first summer back home. I figured he'd get none because he hadn't really made any friends, but he got tons. He never stopped spending time with me, but he always had a letter to write as soon as he got home. For half the summer I thought he was making them up!" Lily slammed her face down into her hands. "I'm so stupid!"

"You're not stupid," Mary backtracked. "You're just thick sometimes." She came over and sat next to Marlene. She patted Lily's leg.

"Here I am telling myself he lied to me. He lied to me alright, but I was lying to myself. Telling myself he had no friends, he needed me, he liked me."

"Well you weren't lying about that," Marlene laughed. Lily looked up at her another confused frown on her face. "Come on, Lily. He's in love with you."

"NO!" Lily slammed her hands down on her bed. "He _never_ loved me. You don't call someone you love that- that awful name." Lily's face scrunched up and she felt hot tears in her eyes. Marlene turned to wrap an arm around her but Lily pushed her off. "I'm fine." She crossed her arms around her chest.

"Lily," Mary sighed. "It's fine to be upset about this. He was very mean."

"No. What's mean is bullying someone every day until they snap at their best friend just because they can't fight their own battles," Lily ranted.

"This was _not_ James's fault," Marlene exclaimed. "It's Snape's for thinking the way he does."

Lily stared at her bed. She had to admit Marlene was right. "Yeah," she whispered.

"Don't blame Potter," Mary said. "He's been bullying Snape for years. Just like Snape's been into the Dark Arts for years."

"I know that!" Lily groaned. "That's why I don't care how he feels anymore. He's been going too far with the Dark Arts. His secret spells. I know they do bad things to people. He used one today. He hit Potter with one of his cutting spells. His notebook is full of them. Next to them things like loss of blood, no spell will fix, awful things. I always told myself I saw the wrong words or he had a counter curse." She shook her head.

"You should report him to Dumbledore if he has spells like that," Mary suggested. Lily shook her head.

"No. I have nothing to go on. They're just scribbles in some notebook. Some of my hexes are in there. He'd blame it on me or, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe they're medical spells or trying to figure out how to reverse a spell without a counter curse. I don't have enough knowledge to go to Dumbledore."

"You could just let him know Snape's making up spells. He'll keep a look out for something off," Mary suggested.

"I really don't think I should go. It will look like I'm searching for scraps to throw. Just to get him in trouble for calling me a Mudblood." Mary and Marlene cringed. "It's a word. I've been called it many times before. It's awful but... it's a word."

"Fine." They sat in silence for a minute each thinking hatful thought about Snape. "We should really get going if we're going to make dinner." Mary stood up and brushed off her skirt. Lily sat staring at her hands. Marlene took her arm and pulled.

"Come on, Lily. You can't rot away in here." She laughed when Lily rolled her eyes and came with them to the Great Hall. Lily saw Severus waiting close to the Gryffindor table, but when Lily came in with Marlene and Mary, he quickly walked toward the Slytherin table.

Two weeks went by with Severus apologizing every moment Lily was alone and James not asking her out once. James had even seemed to have matted down his hair, though she noticed it still stood on end straight out like the lip of a ball cap and reaching to the sky on the crown of his head. One day when Marlene was busy snogging some boy and Mary was with her boyfriend, Lily had to walk alone to Herbology. She spotted Severus by the hut, the second he spotted her he started walking toward her. Lily panicked. She looked around for someone to strike a conversation with. Severus wouldn't bother her if she was with someone. But she couldn't spot anyone except Sirius Black and James Potter.

She cursed under her breath and jogged over to them. "Potter," she quickly said. He stopped for her and looked back. He smiled.

"Evans," he replied. Sirius watched their exchange with raised eyebrows. He had talked to Lily that morning and she had seemed angry when James interrupted them with a question about Potions.

"Talk with me," Lily urged. She quickly wiggled in between them. Sirius looked around for a reason and almost smirked when he spotted a very confused and angry Severus Snape.

"About what?" James asked very amused.

"Why haven't you asked me out lately?" Lily almost cringed at her question. That made it seem like she wanted him to ask her out.

"Well." James messed with the straps of his bag. "I. Didn't want to bother you," he rushed. Lily frowned. When had that ever stopped him? "Were you going to say yes?" he asked.

"No." Lily bit her lip.

"Then why should I ask? No use in asking you out if you're just going to turn me down." He shrugged.

"When has that ever stopped you?" She looked up at him and suddenly realized he was very tall. He looked down at her and smirked.

"Since I realized I'll never get you if I keep irritating you." He shrugged again. Lily frowned. "Does that bother you?"

"So. You're still trying to ask me out?" She was now very confused.

"Nope. Not asking you out." Lily smiled.

"Thank you." She sighed. "If you would stop teasing people, we might be able to be friends." She grinned. Sirius flashed a look over at James. James didn't say anything.

"I'll work on that," he tensely said. Lily's smile got wider.

"I see you've tried to de-craze your hair." She pointed to his un-spiked hair.

"Oh." James smiled a little. Sirius rolled his eyes. James worked very hard to keep it down every morning, but he still had the habit to run his hand up through his hair. It didn't help he had the same number of cowlicks as he had fingers on his right hand. "Yeah. Well my father's been on me about it for years. He hates my hair." James chuckled nervously.

"Well, it looks." Lily smiled tightly. "Better." James smiled brightly.

"Really?" Sirius asked. "Cause no one else likes-." He made a noise of pain. James had used his extremely long arm to hit Sirius in the head. Lily quickly looked behind her but she saw nothing. She skeptically looked at James, he gave her that small smile, and she smiled back. They passed Severus chatting about how they enchant their notes to say mean things to the teachers who try to read them which caused Severus' blood to boil and Lily to laugh at James and Sirius' genius.

…


	2. Chapter 2

…

Snivellus Strikes Again

…

Lily sat with Sirius and James throughout Herbology class because the four of them happened to be the first there. Severus avoided them at all costs. Marlene gave Lily a very confused scowl as she entered the hut. Lily shrugged and mouthed she'd tell her later. This seemed to please Marlene enough and she sat with some boy Lily guessed Marlene had been snogging. Mary blinked several times before smirking at Lily. Lily rolled her eyes.

"So, did you only talk to us because Snivellus was there?" Sirius whispered in Lily's ear the second James was distracted. Lily sank into her chair.

"That was part of it," she murmured.

"Part of it?" he stressed.

"Most of it, but once we got talking, it wasn't hard to keep talking. James isn't bad at that." She looked back to the front of the class.

"Yeah. He's a good person. He's nice to talk to. You would know that if you gave him a chance." Sirius glowered at her.

"I will if he stops bullying people," she growled. Sirius glared at her and she glared back.

"What's wrong?" James whispered leaning in to them. Their eyes slowly relaxed and they turned away from each other.

"We're arguing over who gets to do crosswords first tomorrow morning," Lily lied. James frowned but nodded.

"Didn't know it was such a big deal." He raised his eyebrows at Sirius. Sirius nodded silently saying he'd tell him later. Lily huffed figuring out their silent language.

"Why don't you just tell him now," Lily grumbled. Sirius looked up at her in shock. He leaned over to James.

"Lily was-." Lily smacked him with her textbook. "Oh. You know sometimes it's hard to tell when you're being sarcastic."

"Yes, she has a very dry tone," James agreed. Sirius and he nodded. Lily glowered toward Madam Sprout.

"Sod off you pair of gits." She smirked against herself. They sniggered.

"Mr. Potter what did I just say?" Madam Sprout asked. James looked up.

"Fanged Geranium's will bite if not taken properly care of?" James guessed. Madam Sprout's angered looked turned into a pleased one.

"Yes. Please make sure your group pays attention, Mr. Potter." She gave the three of them a firm look before continuing with her speech about the plant they would be caring for that day.

"Way to go, Prongs," Sirius whispered happily.

"Prongs?" Lily questioned. Sirius raised his eyebrows. James looked at her innocently. "My mind is making up wild things here boys, care to correct them?"

"Nope," Sirius popped. James shook his head. Lily rolled her eyes. At the end of class, Lily turned to James and looked at his hair.

"Is it because your hair is constantly standing up?" she asked. She felt an urge to run her hand through his hair which had fallen slightly since he'd last run his hand through it.

"Yep," he quickly answered. Lily eyed him cautiously. James ran his hand through his hair. She couldn't tell if it was his nervous tick or because he wanted to emphasize her speculation.

"Because it looks like prongs if you think about it." She tilted her head and inspected him.

"Yep. Prongs. Antlers. Hair." James smiled and stood up. Lily quickly followed noticing only she, him, and Severus were left in the classroom.

"Antlers? I never said antlers. I said prongs. Like spikes. As in you spike your hair." Lily hitched her bag onto her shoulder and fell into step with him.

"Well they think it looks like antlers," he quickly corrected. Lily frowned.

"Then why don't they call your deer?"

"Dear? I'm not their wife." James chuckled. Lily huffed. Running a little to keep up with his long strides.

"No. Deer as in the animal."

"Like as in a stag?" He had to shove down a stupid grin.

"Or doe, yes. Deer. Why don't they call you that?"

"Because they don't want to sound like my wife calling me dear when I go home after a day at work."

"Or when she got home after a day of work." Lily raised an eyebrow. James sighed annoyed and nodded. "Then why not stag?"

"Stag has no ring to it." He noticed her breathing heavily and slowed down a little. "Prongs however has a ring to it."

"Do they have nicknames? Or are you the lucky one?" Lily followed him to his special place, a nice spot under a large tree where he liked to sit and study. He sat down and looked up at her.

"They have nicknames, but I'm not sharing." He smiled up at her. Lily looked down at him then quickly around them. Noticing Severus waiting patiently by the castle wall.

"Is this your study spot?" she asked.

"Yes. And I like to study alone." James itched. He wouldn't mind her staying, but he did prefer to study alone.

"You're the best at Transfiguration. I could use a few pointers. Mind if you help." James stared at her. She never asked for help and if she did it was from Remus, even though James was the highest ranking in Transfiguration.

"Yeah," he said lightly. He moved his books and made a spot for her. Lily cursed herself. Why couldn't she just walk back alone? Shoot down Severus' annoying apologies. James wasn't her favorite person but he wasn't horrible. She could take a few pointers. Lily sat down and took out her Transfiguration notes.

Halfway through James explaining a concept to her, he stopped and looked at her. Lily looked around. "What?" she asked.

"Why are you keeping me company?" he asked. Lily blushed.

"I can't keep you company?" she asked.

"You hate me." He gave her a look.

"I don't hate you." Lily smiled tensely.

"You called me a toehead, insulted me very thoroughly, and said I made you sick. I think you hate me." He put down his quill. Lily looked to her hands.

"I was angry." She didn't look up.

"Your insults were very thought out for just a moment of rage, Evans. You've been thinking about them for a long time." Lily shrugged. "So why are you suddenly trying to be my friend? Is this because Snape insulted you? Because you said I was just as bad as him, even though I would _never_ call you that."

"It has something to do with that, but. You're not as bad as him." She cringed at her words.

"Really? I'm not as bad as him?" James looked at her skeptically. He knew he wasn't as bad as Snape, but he didn't think Lily knew that.

Lily chewed her bottom lip. "Well. When you're not hexing people and you're not gloating about your grades or your popularity or grinning smugly."

"You're telling me being happy with myself if as bad as being in love with the dark arts?" he asked his eyes narrowed.

"Happy with yourself?" Lily laughed. "You're not happy with yourself you're arrogant!"

"I'm allowed to be a little arrogant. Everyone is. I have a good life. I'm a smart person-."

"No. Everyone's a _little_ arrogant. You're a lot arrogant. You're never not arrogant. You strut around like you're the Queen of England!"

"I do not!"

"Stop teasing her!" came a call. Suddenly Severus Snape was rounding on the pair of them brandishing his wand. James quickly pulled his out and kneeled in front of Lily trying to protect her.

"I'm not teasing her!" James pointed his wand threateningly.

"Yes you are!" Severus flicked his wand and uttered a spell and James was hanging in the air by his legs.

"Snape!" he roared. He pointed his wand at Severus but Severus disarmed him.

"Severus!" Lily shouted. She stood and stalked over to her former friend. "Let him go."

"He was bullying you," Severus shouted.

"No he wasn't. We were having a discussion."

"You were defending yourself from his mean comments." Severus turned James' hair green. James shouted in anger.

"You weren't even here! How could you possibly know what was happening?" Lily pulled her wand out. "Let him go!" She felt oddly like she was fighting the same battle but the sides were reversed.

"Snape, I swear to Merlin I will destroy you," James shouted. He flung his hands and tried with all his will to use magic without a wand.

"I'm defending you," Severus exclaimed to Lily. Lily rolled her eyes and whispered a hex. Snape was on the ground screaming about his toenails. Lily pulled James down with the counter curse she'd heard a hundred times, handed him his wand, grabbed her books, and stalked away. Severus used the counter curse Lily had told him and started to get up. James hexed Severus and stalked after her. Severus growled stuck on the ground. He got up and chased after the pair.

"Evans!" James shouted. "Evans, why are you mad at me?" He reached to grab a hold of her arm.

"I said leave her alone!" Severus sent James tumbling to the ground. James growled.

"And I said I was fine!" Lily roared. She disarmed Severus, caught his wand, and hexed him. His hair turned purple. "I don't need you to save me." She hexed him again. Blue spots adorned his nose. "I'm not a damsel in distress." She hexed him once more. Severus was on the ground giggling without control. James chuckled a little. Lily stepped over Severus. "I'm no longer your friend. You need to stop following me." She hexed him and he was slapping himself. James frowned. She looked menacing. "I'll never forgive you." She hexed him again and pulled her wand back to do one more but a hand stopped her.

"This isn't you, Evans." James frowned at her. Lily snarled at him and hexed him. His glasses broke. He groaned and when he looked up Lily was gone. Severus was on the ground giggling and crying silent tears. James was going to hex him but he watch the boy squirm and a guilty feeling emerged in his chest. He kicked Severus' wand over to him, turned around, and walked away.

James decided he wasn't going to go after Evans again. He needed new glasses and needed someone to tell him if his hair was a different color or not. He stalked to the Great Hall because he knew Remus would be there with Peter. When he walked into the Great Hall giggles erupted. He grumbled and sat down next to his friends who were stuck between laughing and grumbling.

"Did Snivellus sneak up on you?" Peter asked.

"Is my hair a different color?" James asked.

"Green." Remus muttered a spell and smiled. "Black."

"Yes Snivellus snuck up on me but I was with Evans and he assumed I was teasing her and that was why we were fighting which was _way_ off. He cursed me and had the nerve to say he was defending her honor! After what he called her? She of course gave it to him. He was on the ground uncontrolled by laughter." James oddly wasn't laughing.

"What's wrong? Isn't this your wet dream?" Peter asked. James frowned.

"I thought it was. Evans going off on Snape. But. It just felt wrong. She wouldn't do that. She's better than us." He rubbed his hands roughly. Peter and Remus were silent.

"Is that all that happened?" Remus asked.

"I told her to stop hexing him. She broke my glasses which is why I'm not wearing them. Why didn't you ask by the way?"

"You've only been wearing them for one school year. Sometimes I forget you wear them. And you don't always wear them. Like when you sleep, when you forget them, when you're doing anything active-." Peter listed.

"When they irritate you," Remus added. Peter nodded. "Come to think of it you only wear them sixty percent of the time at most."

"Well I need you to fix them. My Mum will go beside herself if she learns I've broken another pair."

"How many does that make?" Peter asked pointing to the broken pair in James' hands.

"Seven. All at the hands of Evans."

"Speaking of Evans." Remus rolled his eyes at the nickname. "What were you fighting about?"

"She called me arrogant. I defended myself. Snape took it the wrong way." James shrugged.

"Why was she even with you?" Peter asked.

"I tried to ask but it didn't really work. I think it was something to do with Snape though."

"Oh, you mean about her avoiding him at all costs?" Remus asked. James' eyes widened. "Yeah. She's never alone and always rushes to be with someone when he's around."

"So that's why she talked with me?" James felt a rip in his heart. He thought she was warming to him.

"Sorry, mate." Peter smiled sadly. James looked down.

Meanwhile, Lily stormed into the common room interrupting a snogging session of Marlene's with the same boy from that morning. "Oh, Merlin," Marlene exclaimed at the sight of Lily. Marlene shooed the boy away and patted the spot next to her. "Tell me what happened," she urged. Lily slammed down into the sofa and shoved her bag to the ground.

"You left me in Herbology and I was forced to talk with Potter. He of course decided to sit by a tree instead of study in the castle like a normal person. Then he just had to ask about why I was with him and then accused me of hating him. Then Severus was hexing him because he just assumed Potter was bullying me. He's such an idiot. I had to save Potter and why the hell do those two always have to fight? Then I was chased by both of them because I'm not allowed to walk alone anywhere now. So long story short I left Snape on the ground giggling and broke Potter's glasses." She took a deep breath and ran her hands through her hair. Marlene took a moment to absorb everything she had just said.

"You chose to stay with Potter rather than listen to Snape beg for forgiveness?" she asked.

"Is that all you got out of all that? They're fighting blatantly in front of me!" Lily covered her face with her hands and groaned.

"No. I heard that. Just. You do hate James."

"No I don't!" Lily slapped her hands onto her legs creating a loud noise. "I don't hate him."

"Just last week you told me you hated him."

"I did?" Lily looked at her nervously.

"You did. And you told off James in front of the whole school basically telling everyone you hate everything he is."

"Everyone thinks I hate him?" Lily bit on her finger.

"Yes. Because you do."

"No I don't," Lily groaned. "He just pushes my buttons and makes me so angry! I always want to fight him. But he's actually a fine person. He's smart and when he's not being an arrogant little twit he's kind. I once saw him give a first year a chocolate bar when they were crying about missing home." Lily watched her hands. Marlene watched her curiously.

"So you don't hate him he just makes you feel strong emotions?" she asked. Lily nodded quickly. Marlene smirked and hid it behind her hand. Lily had a crush of some sorts. "Do you like him?"

"Nooo." Lily shook her head rapidly. "No. No. No. I do not like him. Not in that way. As a possible friend, yes, as a halfway good person when he tries very hard, yes."

"He's a good person! He just teases people and hexes Slytherins that are into the dark arts. Half of Gryffindor does that!"

"He's a bully half the time!"

"I'm not having this fight again." Marlene stood up. "I need Mary or Alice or hell even Dorcas can solve this." Lily watched her leave the common room. She groaned and chewed her nail.

"Why do I have to pick fights?" she murmured.

"Because you're a red head," a voice came from behind her. Lily twirled on the spot. Sirius flipped his wand in his fingers lazily.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Lily snapped.

"Calm down. I'm not here to fight." Sirius calmly sat down on the sofa across from hers. He lifted his feet onto the table and continued to flip his wand.

"Why _are_ you here?"

"I have a free period." He shrugged. Lily thought about it and he did in fact have a free period. "Why are you here?" he asked.

"I have a free period." She raised an eyebrow. Sirius ignored her.

"You pick fights because you're a red head. It's in your nature." Sirius shrugged. "Can't stop yourself."

"Did you hear everything?" she asked.

"Doesn't matter." He started to tap his wand against the side of the sofa.

"It does if you're going to go tell Potter lies about me." She stared at him threateningly.

"I won't speak a word." He zipped his lips.

"Please, you're the king of gossip."

"What would you like me to say? I'm going to tell James you don't hate him but aren't fond of him yet? Tell him he makes you mad by just being him. Now what good would that do for my best friend?"

"So you're not going to tell anyone about this?" Sirius shrugged.

"If James pisses me off, I may just let it spill that you don't hate him but don't like him. It'll make him go crazy." Sirius waved his hands around his head. "Won't be able to handle all the thoughts."

"What thoughts?" Lily asked. Sirius waved her away. She didn't need to know yet. "What thoughts, Sirius?"

"You're the one person who doesn't fawn over him." Sirius sniggered a little. Lily thought it was over her feelings toward James, really it was over his skilled pun.

"So what? That makes me a conquest?"

"No. No. He thinks too highly of you to believe you're a conquest." Lily frowned. "Probably agrees that you don't need saving. Probably why he's not looking to apologize now."

"Then why did he pull me away from hexing Snape?" Sirius' eyes bugged out of his head.

"He did what?"

"He made me stop hexing Snape. Said it wasn't me." Lily scoffed. Sirius frowned. He rubbed his chin.

"Now, that, I do not know." He thought for a moment. "I need to go see something." He stood up and walked away. Lily was left alone.

"What?" she called after him, but he didn't answer.

Sirius ran into the Great Hall. He sat down shoulder to shoulder with James. "You pulled Lily off of Snape?" he exclaimed.

"Who told you that?" James looked around for the culprit.

"Lily," Sirius calmly answered.

"You talked with Lily? When?" James frowned and leaned into Sirius awaiting an answer.

"Two minutes ago in the common room. Why would you stop the love of your life from tormenting your arch nemesis?" Sirius gripped James' shoulders. "Are you insane?! That's basically your heaven!" James shrugged Sirius off him.

"It's not my heaven. And it might be what I've always dreamed of, but that's not Lily. She doesn't hex people unless they're really bothering her and even then it's only one hex. This was different. She was going on and on. I could tell if she wasn't going to stop. Lily's better than that." Sirius eyed him.

"But you would have continued."

"That doesn't matter. Lily wouldn't. So I stopped her." Sirius looked away from his friend. James turned back to his homework. "Is there anything wrong with that?" James frowned deeply.

"No. It's just. Different than." Sirius shook his head. "Are you changing?" he bluntly asked. James turned to him.

"What?"

"Are you changing? Yesterday as far as I was concerned you wouldn't have pulled anyone off Snape even if it meant they would be expelled. Even if it meant _I_ would be expelled. And now. Now you're pulling Lily Evans off Snivellus because 'it's not her'." He air quoted. "Are you changing?"

"What if I am? What if I didn't see it as funny when Evans started tormenting her former friend? What would you do?" James narrowed his eyes. Maybe he wanted to change. Maybe seeing someone crying at the hands of the nicest person he knew caused his chest to tighten. Sirius's shoulders slumped.

"Nothing. But I would like to know." Sirius turned away from James. "I am your best friend." He stared at his hands. James relaxed.

"Maybe I'm growing up," James murmured. Sirius sighed. He still thought hexing innocents was funny. Would this tear them apart?

"What if I'm not?" Sirius whispered nervously. James looked at him through the corner of his eye. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Just. Try and follow my lead." James itched the back of his neck. Sirius looked over at him. Sirius nodded swiftly willing to follow James anywhere.

"Does that go for all of us?" Peter quietly asked. James looked up a little in shock that someone else was listening.

"Yeah, Peter." Peter smiled graciously.

"I'm already grown," Remus said out of the blue. He smirked.

"Coming from the guy who wanted to turn all the Slytherins' robes red and gold during the next Quidditch game." James raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, I can still prank as an adult." Remus pointed his quill at James meaningfully. James laughed.

"Sure. Because adults pull pranks," James shot back. Remus shrugged.

"Maybe I'll be the first." He pulled out his books. "I have to get to Care of Magical Creatures. So do you two." He pointed at Sirius and James. Peter smiled slyly.

"Study of Ancient Runes my arse," Sirius grumbled. Peter chuckled. He pulled out a book and started reading.

On the way to the forest, Lily met up with Marlene. "Mary and Alice say I should leave you alone," Marlene said.

"Okay." Lily watched Marlene chew her lip.

"But I can't. James isn't a bad guy. I heard from Alice that he pulled you off of Snape. If he was the bully you say he is, he wouldn't have pulled you off."

"Who told Alice that?!" Lily looked around worriedly. She did not want to become part of the gossip trail in Hogwarts.

"Alice was sitting near James when he came into the Great Hall to talk with Remus and Peter. She heard him explain that he stopped you from basically killing Snape. Tell me, would a bully do that?" Lily sighed. She messed with her bag.

"I do agree that was a very mature thing to do. But it makes no sense. Why would he do that?... Why did he do that?" Lily nibbled on her finger.

"Because and I quote from Alice from James. 'It's not her'."

"That's what he said when he pulled me off. But why? Why does he care if I don't act myself? I'm acting more like him. Shouldn't he be happy?" Marlene shook her head.

"No. Lily, you're the kindest person everyone knows. No one wants you to turn into a bully. Especially James."

"Why especially James? Why does he care?"

"Because he fancies you!" Marlene groaned. "Why are you so blind?" She huffed and walked away. Lily watched her walk away. She always thought James was just teasing her by asking her out. Did he really truly want to go out with her? Was that why he changed his hair? Lily shook her head. No. He told her he wasn't going to ask her out anymore. He couldn't like her.

James slid next to her when they clumped together to hear Professor Kettleburn's speech. Lily flipped through her book and tried to ignore him.

"Are you mad at me?" he whispered. Lily looked up at him, but didn't say anything. He leaned over and placed his cheek near hers. "I need to know if I have to apologize, Evans." A smirk made its way across her face even though she was still angry with him.

"Yes I'm angry," she whispered back. James nodded.

"Then I'm sorry that I pulled you off of Snape."

"Not why I'm angry." Lily flashed her eyes over his scrunched up face.

"Then I'm sorry I'm arrogant?" Lily sighed. "Tell me what I need to apologize for." James scanned her face, desperate for an answer.

"You don't need to apologize, Potter."

"But you're mad at me." James frowned.

"I'm allowed to be mad. It will pass." She nodded to the front of the class. James sighed and turned to the right page of the textbook. Lily was mad. She was mad that he stopped her, he thought highly of her, he probably liked her, and that she didn't know how to deal with any of those things.

…


	3. Chapter 3

…

Full Moon

…

Mary and Peter came out of Study of Ancient Runes talking about something or another. Peter was immediately harassed about his conversation by Sirius and James. Both of them clapping him on the back for talking with a girl. Marlene, Lily, and Mary watched in disgust.

"What did you talk about?" Lily asked.

"We were talking about the project we were given. It's not like I was asking him out." Mary frowned. "Do you think he thought I was interested?" She cringed.

"No." Lily was not confident in that answer.

"Maybe," Marlene said. "Peter doesn't normally talk to girls. He could think you just striking up a conversation meant something more than it normally does."

"He knows I'm dating Michael Robert right?"

"You snog Michael every chance you get. I think he knows. But." Marlene shrugged. "Peter might not notice. Michael Robert is a Ravenclaw."

"But we've been dating since the beginning of the school year. Do you think he heard something that would make him think we're not together?" Mary started wringing her hands. "Do you think Michael wants to break up with me?"

"No." Lily rubbed Mary's back. "No. You're happy." Lily shared a worried look with Marlene.

"You would tell me if you heard anything, right?" Mary sniffled.

"Of course," Lily and Marlene chorused.

"And we haven't heard anything," Marlene reassured. Mary nodded.

"Good." She tugged her books tighter against herself.

"Has he been acting odd lately?" Marlene asked. Mary looked up at her a little guiltily.

"Well. He's been avoiding me for a few days. He said he was busy studying, but…" Mary shrugged.

"I'm sure everything's fine." Lily smiled at Mary. Mary nodded. Marlene wrapped her arm around Mary.

"I'll talk with him during dinner. I'm sure he's just stressed because of exams."

Before dinner, Lily had to ask Mary something. She would have asked Alice but Alice was partial to James and she needed an impartial voice. The second Marlene ducked out of their dorm room to go talk with someone, Lily flashed a look to Dorcas and Alice who were busy discussing the dance, Lily then went and sat on Mary's bed. "Mary," she asked keeping her voice low.

"Yep." Mary didn't look up from her book.

"When you think of James Potter what do you think of?" she asked. Mary looked up at her in surprise.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Lily thought for a moment.

"When you think of Potter what's the first thing you think of?"

"Quidditch. Why?"

"You don't think of him hexing people or his wild hair or his band of friends or anything like that?" Lily asked. Mary shook her head.

"Is that what comes to your mind?" Mary asked tilting her head.

"No. I. I don't know what I think of." Lily thought of that annoyed ball of energy she felt in her stomach whenever she was around him, his stupid hair, and his brown eyes that were recently clouded by glasses.

"Why are you asking then?" Mary flicked her hair away from her eyes.

"Just. Do you see him as a bully?" Mary laughed lightly. "Honest. Do you see him as anything more than a bully?"

"He can bully people, yes, but everyone does at some point. He's a Quidditch player and a good friend." Mary shrugged. "He's nothing important. He might think he is, but he isn't."

"You think he's a good friend?"

"You've seen the number of times he's defended his friends. You never see him alone. He either desperately hates to be alone or he's a good friend." Lily nodded.

"He likes to study alone." Mary looked up at her with quizzical eyes.

"Is that what you learned today?" Lily blushed a little.

"I also learned he thinks I'm too good to hex people."

"He thinks you're too good to be a bully." Mary turned back to her book. Lily's mouth dropped. "Lily, come on. So he thinks highly of you. Better than if he thought he was better than you."

"He thinks he's better than everyone. Why does he choose me to put on a pedestal?"

"Why do you think?"

"To annoy me?" Mary rolled her eyes.

"Think again."

"Please don't tell me he fancies me." Lily cringed.

"I won't. But just. One day you'll be hitting yourself because you haven't seen something." Mary shook her head. Lily sighed. She hid her face in her hands.

"I just don't see it," Lily grumbled. "I don't see how the way he acts around me constitutes him fancying me." Mary put her book to the side and sat up straighter.

"He shows off in front of you. Yes that's often by hexing someone or by playing a prank but it's more often than not in front of you. He brags about his top scores to you. He doesn't do that to me, only when I'm standing next to you. He messes with his hair around you. Whenever he's doing something exciting, he looks to you. Whenever he laughs, he looks to you. Those are all signs he's into you." Lily scrunched her face up. "The only question is how you feel about him. And you'll tell me you don't feel the same way. Which is fine. But if you're lying to yourself, you'll regret it."

"I can't. I don't. I know I don't fancy him. But I can't tell if I even enjoy him as a person." Mary sighed.

"Give him a chance as a friend. Trust me. I'm his friend. He's a good friend. He'll go out of his way to help you out." Lily rolled her eyes. "Okay, he does that for you already but he'll be nicer to you and what you care about."

"I'll give him a chance."

At dinner, Mary rushed off to the Ravenclaw table to talk with Michael. Marlene grabbed Nathan Lowe after she shoveled food into her mouth. They grabbed a few bread rolls and ducked out. Alice was chatting with her boyfriend, Frank. And Dorcas was in a crowd of sixth years having latched onto a few of her older friends not wanting to endure Alice and Frank's conversation for another dinner. Lily looked over to the Marauders who were chuckling over something. She picked up her plate and sat down next to Remus.

"What are you laughing about?" she asked. Remus covered his mouth and laughed a little harder. Sirius raised a hand trying to speak.

"Don't hex us," James warned.

"We were laughing at…" Sirius took a breath. "Snape's nose." He broke out into laughter again. Lily craned her head to look over at the Slytherin table. Severus' nose was still dotted blue. He had managed to fix his hair but his nose seemed permanent.

Lily smiled. "Shame his hair isn't purple," she murmured. They started to laugh harder.

"You turned his hair purple?" Remus asked through cackles. James and Lily nodded.

"He looked like a clown," James added.

"What spell did you use, Lily?" Sirius asked. "I need to know." When she narrowed her eyes, he paused in his laughter. "For future reference. If you use it against me, I'll know the counter curse."

"I won't tell you." She took a sip of her drink. "You might annoy me one of these days." Sirius cringed. She winked.

"Can you fix my glasses?" James asked. He pulled them out of his robes and placed them on the table. "Your curse was rather effective and we can't figure out how to fix them. My Mum will kill me if I ask for another pair."

Lily quickly fixed them. "I was wondering why you weren't wearing them." James felt his heart beat wildly. She noticed. When all of his friends didn't, she did.

There was a commotion around the Hufflepuff table. "Prank?" Peter wondered. He stood up and looked over.

"What's happening?" Remus asked. Peter sat back down.

"I think they're doing an eating contest of sorts."

Lily watched as Remus made a gagging face. She frowned. "Don't you four usually have one on hotdog day?" Remus went pale and pulled at the collar of his shirt.

"Yeah we do." Sirius watched Remus carefully.

"But usually in the afternoon. It's kind of late to be having one now." James looked behind him to the Hufflepuffs.

"Well it is a full moon." Lily scooped up a mouthful of her dinner. All four boys paled and looked at her. "What?" she asked. "People tend to stay up later on a full moon." She shrugged. They all chuckled nervously. "What are you planning something?" she asked. She leaned in.

"No." They all said. Lily raised her brow.

"No. Like you said it's a full moon." James cleared his throat. "Werewolves are out." Lily nodded seriously.

"I wasn't saying go out exploring the forest or anything. I was just asking if you had a prank planned or a party or if you had a bottle of firewhiskey you were going to crack open." She shrugged.

"Why? Would you want to rat us out?" Sirius asked.

"No." She frowned. "Why would you think that?" They all shrugged. "So you have nothing planned?" She looked each of them in the face thoroughly shocked with this outcome.

"We're not at liberty to discuss." Sirius smiled at her. Lily nodded in understanding.

"Just as long as you're not chasing werewolves in the forest." She laughed, but the rest of them stayed quiet. Remus bowed his head and cleared his throat.

"So exams are almost over. What are you doing with your summer?" he asked.

"Nothing. Going home. Getting back into my summer hobbies. What about you?"

"I'm traveling to Spain for a week," Peter said excitedly.

"I'll probably practice Quidditch in my garden. Get back into a few summer hobbies. Sirius is coming to stay for a while." Sirius nodded at James' plans.

"What are you doing Remus?" Lily asked. Remus frowned.

"Nothing. Home. Maybe visit James."

"Are you looking forward to seeing your parents?" He nodded. "Are you feeling okay?" She put a hand on his shoulder. "You're looking a bit pale."

"I think I need to leave." He stood up and quickly walked out of the Great Hall. A few moments later Professor McGonagall left.

"Did I say something wrong?" she asked.

"No. He wasn't feeling well all day. I'm surprised he made it to class." Sirius smiled. Lily nodded.

"Isn't it time for him to visit his mother?" She looked around. James and Sirius froze slightly. "It's sad if he'll be too sick to visit her."

"I'm sure it'll all work out." James nodded before eating. Lily mirrored his actions and returned to her food.

On the way to the common room, James and Sirius steered the conversation toward how sleepy they were feeling. Lily chuckled but with all their yawning she felt tired too. Close to midnight, under the invisibility cloak the three boys went out into the grounds and over to the Whomping Willow. James tucked the invisibility cloak into his pocket and they all transformed. Peter opened the passage and Sirius went in to gather Remus.

James looked around for the map but couldn't find it. He saw Remus and Sirius coming down the passage. Through facial expressions, huffs, and growls he told Peter he needed to go back to the castle. James quickly fetched the map from their dorm and came back.

Lily woke with a chill. She pulled her blankets back on her, but paused at the faint sound of howling. She opened her bed curtains and stepped out of bed. The window was cracked open. She went to close it when a figure moving on the ground made her pause. She squinted and recognized the figure.

"Potter?" she whispered. Slowly sleep faded away. "Potter." She jumped up and grabbed her dressing gown suddenly remembering that there was a full moon out and she had heard howling. She ran as fast as she could holding her wand out.

When she got outside, she was met with the chill she had woken to. Lily squinted in the dark. "Potter?" she called out. There were faint sounds of animal grunts.

James held the map in his stag mouth. He saw Sirius barking at Remus and smiled. Peter was running circles around the pair. Remus sniffed the air and ignored Sirius' barks. Remus got very still for a moment. Then he tore past James and Sirius. James suddenly heard his name being called. With one look to Sirius all of them raced to get to the person before Remus did.

Lily used the light of her wand to look around but she wasn't finding anything. The sounds of animals were getting louder and she was thinking of returning to the castle, but she couldn't imagine what would happen to James. "Potter!" She waved her wand straining her eyes to find him. When something moved in front of her, she let out a breath of relief. But that was quickly sucked in when she noticed the animal form.

Lily backed away. She recognized the form as being a large wolf but with a long snout, she screamed. Lily started to run back to the castle when she heard the creature let out a yelp. Then she was on the ground with something on top of her. She screamed wildly and turned onto her back. To her surprise there was a large red stag on top of her. A werewolf growling and fighting against its antlers. A large black dog bit at the legs of the werewolf. A rat squealed and ran over onto Lily's chest.

"Off! Off!" Lily smacked the rat off her. It ran back and forth beside her half watching the action of the three other animals. The rat was in clear distress. Lily watched as the dog finally got the werewolf to whimper and run away, quickly following it. The stag watched them run into the woods before turning to face Lily. Lily breathed heavily and noticed the stag watching her intently and in shock.

She noticed little lines around the stag's eyes almost like glasses. Lily looked to the antlers and then to the brown eyes. She gasped. "Potter?" she asked. The stag nodded. "Are you? Is that you?" She reached a hand out. The stag bowed its head. Lily backed away. "Transform then!" she ordered.

The stag looked to the rat. The rat moved over to the stag and together they stood on their hind legs. Slowly they transformed into their human forms. Before her stood tall, thin James Potter with antlers slowly disappearing into his hair and short, plump Peter Pettigrew his nose slowly moving back to it's normal shape.

"You're animagi?" she asked.

"Lily," James started. Lily jumped at her first name.

"This is so illegal," she whispered.

James raised his hands. "Lily, we can explain."

"Please, let us explain." Peter shuffled behind James. James took a step forward.

"How? Why?" Lily dipped her brow in confusion.

"I'm sorry," Peter pipped.

"Let me explain," James said slowly a hint of anger present in his voice. Lily shut her open mouth and nodded slowly. "That werewolf you saw. That's Remus." Lily opened her mouth. "Let me explain everything. We figured it out in second year. By third year we were trying to figure out a way to help him cope with his transformations. Halfway through third we learned more about animagi and we figured we could become that. We are not registered. If we were registered, we would have to tell why we wanted to become animagi. Remus' secret _must_ be kept a secret, Lily." James stared intently at her.

"Sirius is the dog?" Lily asked. James nodded stiffly. "Peter? You? I don't understand. Becoming an animagi is very difficult. It takes months, years even." Peter quivered at the slight insult.

"We started in fourth year. We had to collect everything. We've only been animagi for eight months. You must not tell anyone." James gritted his teeth.

"This is so illegal. You. You've broken so many rules. Just by being out of bed you've broken so many rules!"

"You have too. Being out of bed." James seemed rigid.

"I'm not an illegal animagi!" Lily whisper shouted. James closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I just saved your life. The only thing I ask in return is for you to not speak a word about our abilities or Remus' disease."

"Please, Lily," Peter begged.

"I." Lily stared at their pleading faces. She noticed a hint of anger in James'. The decision was already made though. "I won't tell anyone. You'd go to Azkaban and I… I'd be at fault for that. Remus… Is he okay?"

"He's fine. He's… It's been with him for years." Lily cringed.

"Years," she said in shock. She placed a hand on her chest. He was already so young, to have it for years. "With that painful disease?" James nodded showing the same concern as Lily.

"Now, please. Let me walk you back to the tower. Peter, go tell Sirius we have it handled." Peter nodded and quickly transformed before running off to find Sirius and Remus. James put a hand on Lily's back and led her back to the castle.

"You really are a good friend," Lily said quietly. James stood up straight. His anger came back.

"I am. Which is why I feel horrible because I'll have to tell one of my best friends that he tried to attack someone last night and that someone now knows his secret, and all of ours." Lily looked to the ground. James pressed on. "Do you know how horrible he will feel? Do you know how terrified he is that he'll hurt someone? Do you know the pain he sits through when we tell him we had to fight him off? How about the silence he turns to when he realizes we aren't telling him the whole truth about the night because we want to keep the bad things from him?" Lily felt like she wanted to puke.

"I'm sorry," Lily whispered.

"You should be." James turned around and started to walk off.

"I was just trying to save you!" James stopped and turned to look at her. "I saw you through the window walking on the grounds. I remembered it was a full moon and I heard howling. I was trying to save you from getting killed."

"You shouldn't have come after me! I can take care of myself."

"I didn't know that!" Lily threw her arms up. James ran his hands through his hair. He groaned.

"Well now you do! Happy? Now you know the biggest secret of my entire life. Of all four of our lives. My parents don't even know, Evans! I tell my parents everything, and they don't know about this." He stopped. He noticed he was directly in her face, breathing hard and screaming at her. But she was calm and slightly saddened.

"I'm sorry, James." He paused at the use of his first name. She looked him in the eye. "I am very truly sorry." James gave her a slow nod.

"Let's get you back to bed. We can talk more in the morning. I can answer all your questions. Don't ask anything of Sirius or Peter or Remus."

"Why?" James glared at her. "I won't ask them anything, just… tell me why I can't ask them." Lily was treading lightly.

"Sirius will be mad enough as it is. He and Remus. For the first year he thought Remus was in an abusive home, because he left for his mother and came back with scars and bruises. He confronted Remus in second year. Sirius comes from an abusive home. He's fiercely protective of Remus. Don't ask him anything. Peter. Peter will get too nervous. He won't know how to answer. He'll get anxious and have a panic attack. Remus will get very depressed and apologize again and again. You have to wait for them to come to you."

Lily stared at him in wonder. "I'll come to you." James nodded. "I thought everyone was lying when they said you were a good friend, but it sounds like you're the best friend anyone would want."

"Thank you." He placed a hand on her back and led her to the tower.

…


	4. Chapter 4

**This is two chapters uploaded at the same time. So if you haven't read chapter 3, go and read it. Thanks! Have a nice time. :)**

…

The Ball

…

"Lily, do you have a dress?" Mary asked. Lily gave her a blank look. "Well, you haven't been talking about it. I need to know. We need to know." She motioned to her, and Marlene.

"Lily, do we need to go to Hogsemeade and get you a dress?" Marlene asked.

"No." Lily rolled her eyes. "My Mum sent me a dress. I just don't know if I want to go." She shrugged.

"Why wouldn't you want to go?" Mary sat on Lily's bed.

"Everyone goes to the ball," Marlene said.

"Well I don't want to go."

"What is this about?" Marlene asked. She sat down next to Mary.

"I don't have a date."

"Just go with me. I don't have a date," Marlene replied.

"Yes, but by the end of the night you'll be snogging some guy and I'll be left alone." Lily gave her a pointed look.

"I'll make sure you have someone to dance with before I go off with someone."

"Problem solved." Mary clapped her hands together and stood up. "Let's see the dress, Lily-Billy." Lily sighed and got up.

"Just so you know I still have the right to not participate in the ball. I might just sit and watch over it for my Prefect duties." Marlene and Mary rolled their eyes.

"Even if it's my dying act, I will make sure you have one dance." Marlene made a cross over her heart. Lily laughed.

"It will be your dying act because I'm not dancing tonight. I'll sit and drink punch but I won't dance." Lily pulled out her blue dress and went into the bathroom. "Now, the dress doesn't look that great on me. It's a little big in the chest and a little too tight in the waist." Lily stepped out of the bathroom.

Two wolf whistles followed. Lily rolled her eyes. "Lily!" Mary shouted. "You look amazing!" Marlene made a twirling motion and Lily slowly turned.

"It's big and tight at the same time." Lily scrunched up her face.

"It looks amazing. You look sexy." Marlene pulled out her wand and walked over. With a quick flick the chest shrunk a little and sculpted to Lily's chest. Lily gasped.

"Marlene! That's _way_ too tight." She dashed over to her bedside table for her wand and loosened the dress.

"It made you look hot." Marlene flicked her hair.

"If she left it that way, she wouldn't be able to _not_ dance." Mary sniggered. Marlene nodded her head.

"That's the point. She's not going to not dance. Like I said even if it will be my dying act." Marlene sat down and flicked her wand again.

"Marlene!" Lily raised her wand and fired a hex over to Marlene. Marlene yelped and held her cheek.

"What the hell, Lily?! I'm trying to-."

"I know what you're trying to do, and I don't want it." Lily fixed her dress to her liking and gave Marlene a pointed look.

"Stop the death stare, you made your point." Marlene let out an aspirated sigh and laid down on her bed. Lily turned to Mary and arched an eyebrow.

"What do you think?" she asked. Mary chewed her lip. She looked to Marlene then back to the dress.

"Honestly, Lily." Mary cringed a little. Lily just stared at her. "I liked Marlene's way better." Lily groaned and turned around. "It's just, your boobs look so much better and you always want your boobs to look good."

"I'll wear it that way, if and only if I don't have to dance." Lily turned around and waved her wand threateningly.

"But I want you to dance!" Marlene yelled. "You're a good dancer. I don't understand why you don't want to dance?"

"I have my reasons." Lily held her chin up.

"List them." Marlene stood. "List them and I'll think about it." Marlene crossed her arms over her chest.

"I don't need to list them."

"Do you have a list?" Mary asked. Lily looked down.

"Ha! So you will dance. I will choose your partner. How about Sirius?" Marlene grinned evilly.

"No! If I have to dance, which I do not, I will be choosing my partner." Lily crossed her arms over her chest and sat down with a grumbled.

"Just tell us why you don't want to dance. That's all we're asking." Mary started braiding her hair. Marlene nodded enthusiastically.

"You'll think I'm an idiot or sappy or something." Lily looked to her lap a plan forming in her mind.

"We don't often think you're sappy and when you think we will we normally just think you're normal," Mary explained.

"Fine. I don't want to dance because the last time I dance with someone it was with David." Lily tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Marlene and Mary shared a look.

"But you broke up with him," Mary said very confused. Lily shrugged and nodded.

"Yeah, but I loved him. I only broke up with him because he started to look at other girls and that annoyed me to no end." Lily shrugged.

"Then why do you want to save your last dance memory with him?" Marlene asked timidly.

"He was my first time. I want to think it was for love, and if I don't dance with anyone tonight, I'll show myself it was for love." Lily rubbed her nose and hid a smirk. Mary rolled her eyes.

"Lily, you were sickly in love with David. David was sickly in love with you, but you can't let him stop you from moving on. It's been three months. If you asked him, he'd tell you your first time was in love because it was. But you're not in love with him now, so you can move on." Mary got up and sat next to Lily. She wrapped her arms around her.

"I've been thinking maybe I just wanted to get it over with. Maybe I was just jumping the gun, not really in love." Lily covered her face. "I told you it was sappy!" Marlene sat on her other side.

"This isn't sappy, it's a real thought in your head. And for you to believe that… If this is what you have to do to convince yourself, even though you shouldn't have to, I'll let you not dance tonight." Marlene sighed. Lily looked up from her hands.

"Good." She smiled. She sat up and grinned. Marlene blinked. Mary frowned. That was way too fast of an emotional move. Marlene jumped a little in her seat.

"You little shit, that was all made up?" Marlene hit Lily's arm. Lily giggled.

"Merlin's beard, you two bought that!" Lily laughed and threw her head back.

"I was genuinely worried about you, Lily!" Mary slapped her other arm. Lily snorted.

"Come on! I knew David and I were in love." Lily gasped and held her chest. "I wrote it in a journal, because I was so heavily in love I kept a journal!" Lily laughed.

"What the hell?" Marlene dove to her bed and raised her wand. Lily yelped, held her cheek, but continued laughing.

"You've been spending too much time with Sirius." Mary shook her head. She shoved Lily over. Lily gasped in laughter again.

"Oh, Merlin!" Her cheeks hurt.

"Now I'm going to convince James Fucking Potter to dance with you." Marlene rushed out of the room. Lily sobered up.

"What?" she asked Mary. Mary clicked her tongue and smirked. "Did she just say Potter?" Mary nodded.

"James Fucking Potter," Mary giggled.

"His middle name is Fleamont." Lily quickly changed out of her dress and chased after Marlene. "Marlene, I swear to god if you talk with Potter-." She stopped mid-sentence, at the bottom of the stairs to Marlene was engaging in a riveting conversation with James. James turned at the sound of his name.

"What?" he asked with a little smile on his face. Lily's fury halted for a second. She put on a cool face and walked over to them.

"What are you talking about?" she asked pleasantly.

"Quidditch." James smiled. "Marlene was asking me what methods I thought we should use next year." Lily nodded her head along. Marlene smirked. Mary slowly ducked behind Lily and walked over to Sirius. She quietly spoke to him about the dance then slipped back upstairs. Sirius sniggered and whispered to Remus. Remus whispered to Peter and Peter ran over to James.

"Prongs," Peter whispered. He motioned for James to lean down so he could whispered in his ear. James nodded his head along with Peter's words, stole a glance at Lily's confused face, and nodded again. Peter scampered off.

"What was that about?" Marlene asked teasingly.

"Nothing." James shrugged. "So, Evans, do you have any idea on Quidditch strategies?"

"No. I. I'm going to go see if Mary wants to um…" Lily stopped. She was going to say look over Charms work, but they would be finished with school tomorrow morning, so she couldn't. "Plan to visit over break." She smiled and dashed upstairs. She faintly heard laughter as she took two steps at a time.

"Mary," Lily called. Mary jumped at the sound of Lily's voice and looked up guiltily.

"I didn't do anything," Mary quickly said. Lily narrowed her eyes.

"I was going to ask if you wanted me to take a look at your dress." Lily crossed her arms over her chest. "What did you do?"

"I did nothing," Mary quickly replied. She crossed her own arms over her chest. "And I will let you see my dress. It's not as tight as yours."

"I didn't want mine to be that tight." Lily frowned. Mary flicked her hair and got changed.

"What I mean to say is it doesn't hug my figure like yours. It's flowy and stops at my knees," Mary motioned with her hands as she spoke. Lily nodded.

"Do you like my dress? Because I can shorten it. I'm worried I'll trip over it or something." Lily picked at her dress which laid on her bed.

"No. I think its fine. Maybe shorten it an inch so your shoes will show," Mary suggested. Lily nodded and did so. Mary came out of the bathroom and twirled. "Oh, you look beautiful." Lily smiled. The dress flowed around her waist and legs, but was a corset on top.

"Really? I want to impress Michael. He's been really down lately. I want to make him smile." Mary twirled fast and her dress blew up. Lily laughed.

"Unless you want to give him a peep show, don't do that during the dance." Mary winked at Lily.

"Maybe I'll do just that." Mary sniggered and started pulling her hair into a bun. "You sure you don't want to participate in the fun tonight? I know you don't have a date and that can be sad, but you can still dance with friends." Lily sat down.

"It's not that exactly. I'll probably end up dancing with someone at some point. Just keep me away from David and George. I don't want to go down those roads again." Mary chuckled. Lily smiled a little.

"David's going with Marissa Hong. I think George is going stag but he'll probably stick with his Hufflepuff mates." Lily nodded and picked at her skirt.

"I'm not worried about them asking me to dance. Not really." She tilted her head. Mary mirrored her expression.

"Who are you worried about? Please don't say Potter. He's sworn off asking you out for some reason and he'll probably not go looking for a rejection." Lily shook her head.

"No. I'm not worried about him. I know I seem to be, but he's fine."

"Then who are you worried about?" Mary stopped pinning her hair and turned around to look at Lily.

"I'm worried Severus will come asking." Lily looked down. "That's why I don't want to dance. I always saved one for him and I just know he'll be looking to apologize." Mary frowned deeply. "I just can't deal with that again. I really don't want to see him and have to say no again and have to come up with a reason, because, 'I don't want to see you' isn't working well."

"If you have a dance partner all night, he won't have a chance to ask you," Mary thought out loud. Lily looked up a little happier.

"I didn't think of that." Mary smiled and nodded. Lily smirked. "Who can I dance with all night?" Lily rolled over the list of boys in her mind.

"You're going to dance now?" Marlene asked coming back into the room.

"She's worried Snape will ask her to dance. That's the real reason she doesn't want to. But I figured if she had a dance partner all night, he couldn't intrude." Marlene grinned with Mary.

"Okay you've got three stag Hufflepuffs, five Ravenclaws, and four Gryffindors. I'm assuming you want to stay away from all Slytherins. So you've got your pick." Marlene pulled out a piece of parchment and wrote down all the names of the boys Lily could choose. "If you don't mind, I'll be taking Sirius at some point but I'll start with Oliver Ken he's a Ravenclaw. I could probably talk him into dancing with you."

"If you run out of boys, I can convince the band to play a rock song and you can dance with Michael and me."

"I would say that for Sirius and I, but we'll probably be-."

"In a dark corner snogging all night?" Lily asked. Marlene smirked and nodded.

"Exactly. Now, survey the list because I need to pack everything but the essentials for tomorrow." She threw the parchment at Lily and started to pack. Lily looked over the names. She groaned in her mind. She'd have to ask a number of guys to dance and she wasn't exactly looking forward to that, but it'd have to do.

That night, Lily and Marlene took their time getting ready. Mary dashed off quickly to go surprise Michael. Alice met Frank in the common room. Dorcas complained about Marlene and Lily for ten minutes before going without them. When they finally got to the Great Hall, the party was starting, couples were dancing, and those who went alone were congregating around the punch bowls. Lily immediately looked for a dance partner but she only spotted the Marauders and George's crew.

"I see Oliver. Do you want me to stay until you have someone?" Marlene asked. Lily shook her head.

"I think I'll ask Sirius or Remus to dance." She walked over to the boys, Marlene leaving her side.

"Ohh, Evans is looking fine tonight," Sirius teased. James and Remus wolf whistled, Remus winked at her. Peter motioned for her to twirl. She did a quick turn before fake laughing at them.

"Did you spike the punch already?" she asked teasingly. The boys laughed. George stepped up to her but she opted to walk closer to Sirius.

"No. Slughorn's been eyeing us a little too closely," Sirius explained. He shot a quick look to Professor Slughorn who had a keen eye on the group of boys. "We'll have to get him distracted." Sirius turned to James for a plan but Lily already formed one.

"I bet he'll be pleasantly surprised to see his star Lily Evans dancing with you the Marauder Sirius Black," she suggested. Sirius' cheeks turned a light shade of pink. He dared a glance to James, but James just smiled.

"We'll have to spin by him a few times." Sirius opened his arms. Lily grabbed his hand and placed her other hand on his shoulder. Sirius carefully placed his free hand high on her waist. "James, get ready. The second he's watching us." James nodded and pulled out a flask hiding it behind his dress robes.

"Twirl me after I say hello to him," Lily suggested. Sirius smirked. He moved them closer to Slughorn. "Professor," Lily called out. Slughorn turned to look over at them instead of the group of boys surrounding the punch bowl. "Sorry, I didn't make it to your end of the year party this time." Lily tried hard to keep a conversation while dancing with another person.

"Oh it's okay, Miss Evans. There's always next year. May I ask what you were doing?" He watched them dance with one eye the other trained on the group by the punch.

"I was studying for one of my finals. I would have made it, but I didn't feel confident in my abilities." Lily looked back at Sirius.

"Oh, you have no need to worry about your abilities, Miss Evans. You are very gifted." Lily nodded. She looked into Sirius' grey eyes and squeezed his hand. Sirius twirled her, but through the twirl Lily noticed Slughorn was busy watching the punch bowl. Lily let go of Sirius' hand and fell into Slughorn.

"Oh! I'm so sorry," Lily exclaimed. Slughorn righted her with a forced smile.

"Little mishaps happen, Miss Evans. No need to worry. Mr. Black, you might want to keep a tighter grip next time." Slughorn passed Lily's hand back to Sirius. Sirius nodded and moved Lily back to the punch bowl.

"You get it?" he asked James.

"Yep." James smirked, poured himself a big cup of punch, and sipped it. Sirius finished the dance off with Lily then rushed over to the punch bowl. He passed Lily one but she shook her head.

"Need to keep my wits about me tonight." Though Lily sort of wanted to forget a little, she did not want to accidentally forgive Severus just because she was drunk. "Remus, you want to dance?" she asked. Remus gulped down a large swig of punch and nodded. She noticed he barely touched her back, just tickled it.

"Marlene, said you weren't going to dance tonight," he softly said.

"Well, my reasons weren't exactly thought out. Plus I like to dance."

"She might have mentioned to Sirius that he'd have to convince you to dance, but you seemed to do just that," Remus said. Lily laughed.

Lily and Remus danced for three songs. She then danced with Peter for one, a groping Hufflepuff for another, a Ravenclaw for two, and then another groping Hufflepuff for two. She was out danced and needed a break. The only one left at the punch bowl was James.

"You've danced a lot tonight," he said as she walked over. Lily laughed breathlessly.

"Yes, I have." She smiled and poured herself a cup of punch.

"You know that's spiked," he warned.

"Yes. Exactly. I need a refresher before I have to go dance some more." James lifted an eyebrow. Lily waved her hand. "Don't want to explain." She took a swig of her punch and grimaced. "What did you use for the punch? This is much stronger than that little flask you had." James laughed.

"Yeah, well when you distracted Slughorn, Remus, Peter, and Robert and I poured a flask each into it." He smirked. Lily laughed.

"Lily!" Lily turned around but a knot instantly formed in her stomach. A greasy haired boy was standing a few feet in front of her. "Lily!" he called again. Lily turned back to James. James looked at her nervously like he wanted to give her space.

"What was it?" Lily asked James trying to be light but coming out tense.

"Um. It was-."

"Lily, will you dance with me?" Severus asked again. Lily gritted her teeth. She turned to him.

"No. I'm talking with someone. Please go away." Lily turned back to James. "Firewhiskey?" she asked.

"Um. No. It was-."

"Lily, please. You always save a dance for me and I want to apologize," Severus began.

"Leave me alone," Lily gritted out. Severus stepped toward her and reached for her arm.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I'll explain while we dance." He grabbed ahold of her arm. Lily tore it away.

"No, Severus. I'm talking-."

"You can talk later. Dance with me," he begged. Lily tensed her jaw and turned to James.

"Would you care for a dance, James?" she asked. James looked from Severus to Lily. Lily grabbed his hand before he could respond and walked away from Severus. She wrapped her arm tightly around James' shoulders and squeezed his hand. "Please, James," she quietly begged. James quickly wrapped his free arm around her waist and started dancing. They danced quietly for a song.

"I'm sorry," he finally said as the second song started. Lily looked up at him. She shook her head confused.

"Why?" she lightly asked. James looked to their feet.

"Just. I'm sorry." He sighed. "I feel like it was my fault that Snape and you fell out. I know that you were close with him, even though it made no sense and everyone thought you shouldn't. You cared about him and then you fell out and I feel like it was my fault." He let out a breath which blew across Lily's face. She tightened her grip on his shoulder.

"It's- it's not your fault. We would have stopped being friends anyways. He and I have grown apart for some time," Lily spoke softly. James felt it was like she only wanted him to hear her words.

"Still, you lost a friend. That's happened to me and I know it's not a good feeling." Lily looked up at his hazel eyes in wonder.

"What do you mean?" she asked. James looked down at her with a furrowed brow. Lily blinked. "When have you lost a friend?"

"I. When I was little. I was good friends with a Muggle. She. She got mad that I was going away to Hogwarts. I couldn't tell her what I was, so I said I was going to boarding school. She wanted to go with me, but I wouldn't tell her the name of the school and we fought and she never wanted to play again." James shrugged. "She was my best friend up until Sirius." James's eyes glimmered. Lily rubbed his shoulder with her palm.

"I'm sorry." James nodded at her apology.

"Me too."

"But I'm not going to accept his apology, ever." Lily looked at James with defiance.

"You shouldn't. I'm just saying, having that empty feeling sucks." James' thumb softly rubbed against her lower back. Lily nodded along.

"Yes, it does." They danced in comfortable silence for the rest of the song. When the song tampered off, James slowed down. "Don't stop yet," Lily pleaded. She eyed the front of the hall and saw Severus brooding and pacing the floor.

"Is he still waiting?" James asked lightly. Lily nodded. "This one's a fast one, come on." James grabbed her hand and ran with her toward the stage where the band played. They bounced back and forth, James keeping a strong grip on her hand. She didn't seem to mind. She decided it felt nice having his hand in hers. It was warm but not sweaty and his larger hand enclosed her small hand well. James twirled her a few times and caused her to laugh. He grinned proud of himself. She didn't seem to mind the pride, though.

"James!" Remus shouted. James whipped his head around. "Where's Sirius?" Remus asked. He and Peter were holding a large bowl of punch.

"I don't know!" James looked around. Peter eyed his and Lily's hand but didn't mention it saving the conversation for later.

"He's probably snogging Marlene in a corner somewhere," Lily shouted back. "She had her heart set on it." Lily laughed lightly.

"Go check the corners!" James suggested. "What's he done?" He waved to the punch bowl.

"He drank too much and called Peter a fat soul sucking squid!" James stopped bouncing. Lily felt the tug of his hand and stopped too.

"Did he mean it?" James asked seriously.

"He meant it!" Peter added. James nodded. He turned to Lily.

"Do you mind if I go teach Sirius a lesson?" he asked.

"For calling Peter a fat soul sucking squid? That's a bit childish." Lily frowned. Peter cringed and hid behind Remus. James leaned into Lily's ear.

"We _don't_ mention Peter's weight and we _never_ call each other soul sucking," he whispered in her ear. "It's two of our rules." He leaned back. "I'll come right back. You can dance with Mary." He started to walk her over to Mary who had been sitting alone for a few songs. Lily frowned at the sad sight of her friend.

"Yeah. I'll be with Mary. Come find me, because-."

"I understand. I'll be back." James wanted to kiss her on the cheek, but he refrained and set off with Peter and Remus. Lily walked over to Mary.

"Mary, what's wrong? Where's Michael?" Lily sat down in the seat next to Mary.

"He broke up with me," Mary cried. She sniffled and wiped her nose on a tissue.

"He what?" Lily looked around for the sight of the boy. "Where is he?" Lily started to stand, but Mary grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

"It's fine, Lily. He said we've been growing apart and we have. I haven't looked for him after classes in ages and we haven't had a proper snogging session in a month. He was nice about it. He even teared up a little. I just. I didn't want to leave the party because no one's back at the tower and I didn't want to be alone." Lily nodded.

"I'll take you back. I'm not missing anything." Lily grabbed hold of Mary's hand and stood.

"Lily, finally!" Severus called. Lily tense and squeezed Mary's hand. "You've finally stopped dancing with that prat, can we dance now? I really need to talk with you." Severus reached for her hand.

"No, Sev. I'm with a friend in need right now. Please leave me alone."

"But I need to talk with you!" Severus grabbed her hand and tugged her. Lily ripped it away.

"Stop it! I said I'm with Mary." Lily really wished she'd brought her wand but her dress didn't have any pockets. Suddenly there was a shout from a corner and a flurry of red and Marlene was at their sides.

"What the hell, James?" she shouted. "You almost got that on my dress." She shook off her hands. "They just poured a gallon of punch on Sirius. Thankfully they pushed me out of the way, but I mean? What the hell?" she asked her friends. Then she took in the scene, Mary crying, Lily fighting with Snape. "Mary?" She reached her hands out and wrapped an arm around Mary's waist. "Let's get you back to the tower." She walked quickly. Lily tried to follow, but Severus gripped her hand tightly.

"Ow! Severus, stop it. I don't want to talk."

"I need to talk, Lily. I need to explain everything. You need to give me a chance." Severus tugged her to him.

"Lily, do you need me?" Marlene asked. Lily looked at her two friends and sighed. Mary needed Marlene more she did at the Moment.

"No. Go. I can handle this. I'll be up soon." Lily turned swiftly to Severus. "I don't want to hear your explanation, Severus. I don't need to hear it, because I've already decided we're done being friends. I don't want you as a friend anymore. You called me names just for helping you. That's awful. I was _helping_ you."

"You were making me seem weak. You know that. My reaction was just to-."

"Make yourself look better for your Slytherin friends?"

"Is this about my house? Come on, Lily. I asked the hat to put me in Gryffindor. You know that. But I'm a Slytherin. I can't help that."

"It's not about your house. It's about you! I don't want to dance with you because I don't want to be around you!" Lily tore her hand out of his grip.

"Evans!" James called. He ran over. "You okay?" he asked. He wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Lily, don't dance with this prat. He doesn't even call you by your actual name. Dance with me and let me explain. I'm just asking for three minutes of your time where I talk and you listen." James narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything.

"You've interrupted a dance, Severus." Lily took James' free hand and walked back to the stage. She let out a breath when Severus started walking toward the door, but tensed again when he sat down and watched them.

"How was Mary?" James asked. "I think I saw her crying. Is she okay?"

"Her boyfriend broke up with her," Lily gritted out. James frowned.

"That Robert fellow?" he asked. Lily nodded. "Yeah, he's been eying Emily Daily for weeks now. Peter told me Mary chose to talk with him instead of Robert during class one day. Peter was shocked. He was, I'm not going to lie really excited. He has a crush on her. But I just assumed since they weren't together a whole lot and Robert's been eying someone else, that they were finished already. Shame."

"You knew all this but didn't tell her?" James looked down at her with wide fearful eyes.

"I thought she knew. Like I said we all thought they were already broken up. I would have told her if I'd known." James shrugged. "Give her my best when you see her."

"I told them I'd be back at the tower soon." The light in James' eyes went out slightly at her words.

"Oh. Do you want me to walk with you? So you don't have to walk past Snape?" he faltered at the end not wanting to give the problem she had a name.

"Would you?" Lily titled her head up to look at his eyes.

"Of course." James put a hand on her lower back and walked back toward the door.

"What are your plans for summer?" Lily asked nervously as they neared Severus. James' hand pressed against her back. She felt tension ease from her body slightly at the touch.

"Practice Quidditch, Sirius and I will probably get up to something, I don't know. My parents might want to go to France again or visit our cottage in Godricks Hollow."

"You have a cottage in Godricks Hollow?" James nodded. He got silent as they neared Severus. "Is it nice?" Lily desperately wanted to be talking when they passed Severus, that way he wouldn't interrupt them.

"It's nice." James tensed his jaw. Lily looked up and saw Severus with his wand in his fist but luckily it was shoved in his pocket.

"Do you go there often?"

"We go sometimes." James looked away from Snape when they were a few steps in front of Severus. James looked down at Lily's face. "We went a lot when I was little. I loved the place. It's a bit run down now, but it's still nice. Needs to be dusted and needs new furnishings."

"But still nice?" James nodded. Once they passed Severus they walked rather quietly to the tower. Lily checked her back every few minutes scared Severus had followed.

"He isn't following us, don't worry. He went down to the dungeons." Lily furrowed her brow as she looked up at him. "I saw him when we turned the first corner." James shrugged.

"You couldn't have told me? I've been looking over my shoulder this whole time." James smirked.

"It was funny the first few times. Plus I thought you'd figure it out." Lily grabbed his hand that was still on her lower back and threw it at him. He laughed and dropped his hand to his side. Lily frowned deeply and fought off a grin at his laughter. "Come on, Evans. Want to play some exploding snap?" He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Lily shrunk a little under his heavy arm but smiled.

"I bet I'll beat you," she teased. James gasped.

"How much money are you putting on this bet?" Lily rolled her eyes.

"It's a figure of speech, Potter. I'm not betting money on this game of yours." She wrapped her arms around her waist.

"Oh so you don't have faith in yourself? Fine. I won't bet money. Just pride?" he asked.

"Pride and bragging rights." She looked at him through her eyelashes.

"Bragging rights." He nodded his head and smiled. When they got through the portrait hole, all thoughts of games were pushed aside as Marlene had her arms wrapped around a sniffling Mary.

"Rain check, Potter." Lily ducked out from under his arm and rushed over to Mary and Marlene. James sighed and looked around. He didn't feel like talking with the first years and he didn't want to intrude on the girls, but Dorcas was sitting patiently in the corner with her heels on her lap, watching over everything having decided she was done with the party early.

"Dorcas," James called. He walked over and sat on the arm of her chair.

"James," Dorcas replied. "I see you've been making progress with Lily. Arm wrapped around her, uh." She smiled and sipped a cup of tea.

"Yeah, well. I'm working on it." James smiled wide. Dorcas hummed and chuckled at his ego.

"Don't get so proud, Jamie. She hates your arrogance." James huffed at her words. Dorcas patted his leg. "We're all rooting for you though. You'll be good for her. If you ever get her." Dorcas sniggered.

"I'm trying. She just hates part of me." James frowned.

"She hates part of you yes. But she likes the other part. She's friends with the other part." Dorcas raised an eyebrow. James perked up. Dorcas patted his leg. "Go find Remus. He needs to share in your happiness. He's been down lately. And Peter. Go tell them your news." She shoved him off her chair. "And never sit on my chair arm again, Potter," she growled teasingly. James laughed and walked through the portrait hole.

…


	5. Chapter 5

…

Train Ride

…

Lily was up early to get everything packed. She had left it off for too long. She kept wanting the year to not end, but it did and she was going to miss the train. Marlene was still asleep in bed still, but Mary had been up and about. Dorcas had woken Alice with the normal, "Bitch, stop snoring." Then they went down to breakfast. Samantha and Theodora were fighting about something by the time Lily had come out of the bathroom and she was promptly greeted with a shoe thrown at her head. Then they went down for breakfast having forgiven each other and blamed the hole in the wall on Lily.

Lily finally finished packing and turned to Marlene. She walked over and shook Marlene's shoulders. "Marlene, we're going to be late for the train. At this point we won't even get breakfast." Marlene moaned.

"I had a late night, Lily, back off." Marlene shoved Lily's hands away.

"And I will let you sleep on the train, but now you need to get up." Lily threw Marlene's covers off her and pulled at her arms. Marlene yelped then groaned before she got up.

"Merlin, Lily. I'm all packed, what's the problem." Marlene brushed her bedhead out of her eyes and looked around. "Where is everyone?" she asked.

"Down at breakfast. I just finished packing. Come on. Go to the bathroom. Get ready. The elves will be here soon for our trunks." Lily pushed Marlene into the bathroom. "I'll be in the common room collecting books!" Lily dashed off. She had only been searching for her favorite book she'd left in the common room for fifteen minutes when Marlene appeared ready to go.

"Come on. We're going to be late." Marlene grabbed Lily's hand and dragged her to the portrait.

"No. I left my favorite book." Lily reached back into the common room.

"Someone grabbed it last night, when you were asleep. Probably going to give it to you on the train." Marlene dragged Lily down the stairs.

In the Great Hall people were saying their goodbyes and some were crying. "Group hug, everyone!" a fourth year called. Remus groaned when Sirius grabbed him and joined in.

"Why are you enjoying this?" James groaned.

"Because it's time when everyone cries and I get a sick joy out of it." Sirius sighed and cupped his chin with his hands, elbows on the table. James shook his head.

"Remind me why you're not a Slytherin?" James teased.

"Because I have good tastes." Sirius grinned. That joke hadn't bothered him since McGonagall sat him down and listed all his Gryffindor traits.

"I think it's because you cry too," Remus teased.

"I do not cry!" Sirius slapped his hands onto the table.

"No. You just get teary eyed," James said with a smirk. Mary sat down next to them with a blank face. "Sorry about your break up, Mary," James quickly said. Mary nodded and smiled at him.

"Thanks, James." She picked up a piece of toast and chewed on it.

"Have you seen Lily?" James asked. "I have that book she's always reading. It was next to my pile of Quidditch magazines. I didn't want her to forget it."

"She's still packing. You can give it to her on the train." Mary yawned big. James nodded and fingered the book.

"Just put it in your backpack, Prongs," Sirius suggested. "She'll probably swoon over you once you give it to her." He chuckled. James rolled his eyes.

"Mary!" Marlene shouted. "Give me that toast." Marlene sat down next to Mary with a thump. Lily fell in after her. Marlene snatched the toast out of Mary's hand.

"There is literally toast right there, Marlene," Mary said in a monotone voice. Marlene looked at it and then opened her mouth to the toast that was once Mary's. Mary snatched it back. She tossed two pieces of untouched toast at Marlene and then two more at Lily.

"I didn't ask for this!" Lily shouted.

"Hey, Evans," James called from across Marlene and Mary. Lily leaned back to look at him. He leaned back also. "I have something for you-. Ow!" James clutched his leg. "Mary, what are you doing?" he asked. Mary looked at him innocently.

"What? Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to hit you. Was going to save that for the _train_ which is where I usually get my payback for the ocelot incident!" Mary narrowed her eyes. James' mouth formed an o at her secret message.

"Mary, is this going to go on for ages?" Sirius asked. "The ocelot incident was in third year! You hit James all the time for it. By now it's looking like you just like to hit James." Sirius looked back and forth between James and Mary.

"To be fair she was trapped in a room with an ocelot for half an hour because she accidentally walked into a trap meant for Snivellus," Remus added.

"I think once a year getting punched is fair," Peter pipped. Mary nodded her thanks.

"A half an _hour_ , Sirius. With an ocelot. It ripped my clothes and attacked me." Mary stared dully at him.

"Where did you get the ocelot?" Lily asked. She looked from Peter, to James, to Sirius, and finally to Remus. They all shared a look with their fellow Marauders.

"Let's just say it had something to do with a raw steak, a long walk, and a sketchy guy in Diagon Alley," James said. Sirius zipped his mouth and threw away the key.

"Did you sneak it in your trunk?" Mary asked. They all shook their heads.

"Did a parent help?" Marlene asked. They all shook their heads.

"We will never tell," Remus announced. The four of them shared an evil smirk.

"It's time for the train," Lily exclaimed looking at her watch. She grabbed Marlene by the shirt collar and dragged her out of the hall. Marlene grabbed Mary by the shirt collar and dragged her. Mary grabbed four pieces of toast, shoved one in her mouth, yelped, and followed with grumbles.

"Time for the train," James said in a mock Lily voice. He grabbed Peter by the cloak. Peter yelped but followed along and reached across the table to Sirius. Sirius laughed. He high fived Peter's open hand and grabbed Remus by the shirt collar.

"Time for the train!" he said in the same mocking voice.

"I'm a Prefect and I announce, it is time to go to the train!" Remus shouted before pumping a fist into the air. The few first years that sat next to them grabbed their items and rushed after them. "Sirius, they're not listening," Remus whined. Sirius nodded and grabbed James before he left the Great Hall.

"We have to announce this to the rest of them. They're not coming," Sirius implored. James nodded.

"Three, two, one," James lowly said. At the same time he and Sirius jumped up onto the Gryffindor table. Sirius skipped down a few seats as James did a quick Running Man motion before they both stopped as if in sync.

"It's time to board the train!" they yelled through cupped hands. At the sight of an angry McGonagall, they jumped down, grabbed their respective mates, and rushed off to the train, a crowd of people separating them and McGonagall.

"So why did Mary kick you?" Peter asked.

"I was going to give Lily her book but she wanted me to do it on the train for some reason." James shrugged.

"If you don't know the reason, why do it?" Peter asked.

"Because I think she knows Lily best and if she thinks Lily will appreciate it more on the train then I'll give it to her on the train." James let go of Peter.

"Give what to her on the train?" Sirius asked making a humping motion with his hips. James laughed.

"Not that." James tightened his grip on his bag. "A book that's Lily's."

"Oh. Why didn't you give it to her back there?" Sirius asked. James sighed.

"Because Mary thinks it'll be better to give it to Lily on the train," Peter helped. James nodded.

"That's why she kicked you? Man, I was feeling sorry about the ocelot incident." He grinned. "Oh the ocelot incident. Remember we planned for it to kill Snivellus. Shame it attacked Mary and all but who would have thought she would be around that classroom at that time of day."

"She had just been dumped by that guy," Remus added. "People do odd things after being dumped."

"Yeah, but it is a shame." Sirius sighed thoughtfully.

"Shame we got caught too," Peter added. Sirius chuckled.

"We?" Sirius asked. "What I remember was you and Remus scampered off of that floor by the time James and I got Mary out of there and then all of a sudden Flich shows up and you two are nowhere to be found."

"Yeah," James said. "We got two months' worth of detention for that. And what did you claim Peter?"

"That he had to use the restroom," Sirius supplied. "And Remus said he was _helping_ him." James and Sirius rolled their eyes.

"From what I remembered, I was in the library tutoring students while the whole thing happened." Remus smirked.

"At least that's what the teachers think," Sirius sniggered. "Master planner and all. One who got the ocelot and planned a way to get it inside Hogwarts."

"Yeah, but I was the one carrying the steaks and taking all the bites," James defended. Sirius sighed.

"I forgot. Poor old James. The muscle of the plan." James hit him in the chest. Sirius just laughed.

They made it onto the train before the crowd and decided on a compartment that was bigger than normal. When asked why James thought this was the one, he said in case they had any visitors. He was met with three sniggers. James still thought their compartment was nice, and was proven right when three girls stumbled upon them.

"There's no other compartments left," Lily said. James nodded knowingly.

"Yeah, because you spent too much time looking for your book-," Marlene started.

"You spent too much time in the bathroom-," Lily accused. Mary sat down next to Peter and pulled out a stack of Exploding Snap cards.

"You were checking your hair-," Marlene shouted.

"I was checking my hair? You were checking _your_ hair! The only person who checks their hair twenty times a day." Lily got onto her tippy toes and tried to look big compared to Marlene who was a good two inches taller and twenty pounds heavier.

"Girls, girls, girls," Sirius called. "Come sit down. We're starting a game of Exploding Snap and we need doubles."

"We don't have enough people for doubles," Lily grumbled as she sat down next to James.

"Peter can play by himself, he's good enough. I'll play with Marlene, Remus, you and Mary can play together, and James and Lily can play together."

"Oh, Lily you said you were looking for a book?" James asked.

"Marlene said actually, but yes." She looked at him hopefully. James pulled out her prized book from his backpack.

"It was next to my Quidditch magazines. Thought you forgot it." He smiled sheepishly. Lily gasped and hugged it tight to her chest.

"Thank you. That's thrice you saved me." She wrapped an arm around his neck and hug him for a moment. James was just about to wrap his arms around her waist when she pulled back and looked at the table in front of them.

Mary kept jumping up and down each time a card exploded and would knock Lily into James. James was stuck between the compartment wall and Lily. He felt a surge of happiness every time her body would press into his. Lily, however, was getting more aggravated each time a card exploded.

By the time the game ended, Lily wanted to get up and stretch. She walked out of the compartment and paced. Marlene slid next to James. "So I hear you want tips on Lily," she said. James swallowed a gulp in his throat before checking the door and nodding. "Easy, avoid her in the morning the only one who gets through to her is Sirius. Stop asking her out, at all. Just don't. She thinks it bullying."

"What?" Lily asked. Marlene smiled and turned toward the chess game Sirius and Peter were playing. "What's bullying?" Lily asked.

"The ocelot incident," Marlene quickly answered. Lily laughed before she sobered and mock glared at the Marauders.

"Sorry, Mary. It was just such a long time ago." Lily smiled guiltily. She sank down on the bench across from Marlene and James. "Tell me who wins when I wake up."

"I'm up next, so," James announced.

"Oh. Well tell me who beats Potter when I wake up." Lily sniggered and closed her eyes. James pouted a little. Marlene covered her lips with her finger and pointed at James. James nodded and waited. While he played against Sirius, Marlene scrunched up next to him and whispered things he should do to win Lily's favor.

"Don't ever tell her what I told you," Marlene warned. "I'm not saying this for me, I'm saying it for you. She'll think it was all fake. That you don't really care for her." James stopped the game and looked at her with wide eyes.

"Really?" he asked. "She doesn't think I care about her?"

"All those times you asked her out she thought they were just for fun to tease her." Marlene shrugged.

"But." James frowned. "I put my heart out for her and she just rejects it and she thinks it was all fake?" He crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine. I'm not asking her out once. She has to ask me out." He tucked his chin into his chest.

"Don't brood. She likes you, well half of you. It would be all of you if you stopped hexing people and showing off in your I'm-greater-than-everyone way." Marlene sighed. "I'm sure if you just did what I said, she'd realize that she likes you."

"You think she really does?" he asked.

"You rile her up so easy. She has some strong feelings about you. Good or bad I don't know, but considering she's spent time with you all these years and not killed you, I think they're good." Marlene winked at him. James felt his chest lift.

…


	6. Chapter 6

…

Summer After Fifth

…

"Jamesy, sweetie, there's a letter for you at the door. It reads urgent," Euphemia called down the hall. James crawled out bed and walked down the hall and down the stairs dazed. He usually only got "urgent" letters from Sirius about his family, but Sirius was staying with them right now so it must be from Remus. He opened the letter over a cuppa. The paper was white with blue and red lines over it. He frowned. Muggle paper?

" _Dear Potter,_

 _I know this reads urgent but it's not completely urgent. I've written Remus and he's told me you are the only person he knows with a telephone. He and I are in need of a talk. He has informed me he is on his way to your house. I need to talk with him about finding a way to Cokeworth. If you have any ideas that would be greatly appreciated._

 _Tell Sirius I have seen a Muggle movie,_ _Rocky_ _that I think he would like to see. Maybe he could come with Remus. And I guess since you are the one with the telephone you can come too, but I need to talk this over on the telephone because I don't know when all of you will be together. Remus and I need to talk straight away in person._

 _Maybe your parents will have an idea on how to get you three to Cokeworth. As you know Severus Snape and I are the only magical people here, including his mother. I am_ _not_ _suggesting we visit them, but I don't know how travel will work. Get back to me or call me as soon as possible._

 _Thanks,_

 _Lily Evans_ " She left a series of numbers at the bottom of the page.

"Why does she call you Potter?" Euphemia asked. James hid the letter from her and shrugged.

"I call her Evans."

"Why?"

"It doesn't matter. She wants to know how Remus, Sirius, and I can get to Cokeworth without being detected." Euphemia frowned. "She's a Muggle-born and there's only one other family in Cokeworth that is magical."

"Oh! We can disapperate you boys there. But one of us will have to accompany you." James frowned deeply. "You have yet to learn, James. Your father or I can visit the magical family-."

"No!" James shouted. Euphemia frowned deeply. "Lily doesn't want to visit them. She has… bad connections with them."

"Well your father and I might know them. We do not have to tell this _Lily_ we are visiting and I thought you said you call her Evans." She narrowed her eyes.

"To her face, yes, but I call her Lily-."

"Behind her back? Why is that? Do you tease this girl, James?"

"No." James blushed deeply and looked around the room.

"Why are you blushing? Do you fancy her?" Euphemia smiled.

"Where's the telephone? She wants to telephone me." He felt a flutter in his stomach at the thought of Lily Evans wanting to talk to him, but he knew it was only for Remus and his stupid disease.

"She wants to talk to you?" Euphemia asked. She chuckled likely. James felt her intention to embarrass him.

"Who wants to talk to James?" Fleamont asked. He came into the kitchen smiling brightly.

"A girl," Euphemia answered. Fleamont oohed. He grinned at James.

"A girl. And what is this girl's name?" He patted James on the back.

"Lily," James answered. Euphemia smiled.

"What about Lily?" Sirius answered. James groaned.

"She wants to telephone James," Euphemia answered. Sirius scrunched up his face.

"No. That must be wrong." James shoved his letter at Sirius. Sirius read it over and smiled brightly.

"She doesn't want _you_." He laughed. "She wants me." James turned red in anger. Euphemia and Fleatmont looked at James. Their smiles turned to frowns the instant they saw James' red face.

"I never said she _wanted_ me. I said she wanted to _telephone_ me." He snatched the letter back.

"Yes but she wants to see a movie with me. I've only seen one before. This is going to be great. And she has to talk to Remus, not you. You were just a pity date." The thought of a date with Lily Evans made James' heart flutter, but the thought of a pity date made his stomach tense.

"I never said it was a date!" He shoved Sirius. Fleamont took James by the collar and pulled him away.

"Calm down, James. Sirius, I suggest you stop teasing James because he seems to really care about this girl."

"Stop saying that!" James tore himself away from his father and walked down the hall.

"James," Sirius called after him. "Prongs, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to poke at you." He groaned when James started to pace. He knew better than to pick at James about Lily. "I'll only go see the movie if you come too. And anyways she was at least nice enough to suggest you come. You're lucky she didn't insult you." James glared at him.

Fleamont and Euphemia shared a look. "Do we know this Lily? Or the magical family nearby her?" Euphemia asked softly. Sirius looked up at them.

"No. Lily's a muggle-born and Snape is… You wouldn't know them," Sirius answered. He looked over at James cautiously. "But how can we get to Cokeworth? Do we take a broom or floo?" Fleamont thought for a moment with his finger on his chin.

"Let me write a letter to a friend of mine in the floo department. I can get him to open her fire place." He walked away with a flick in his step. James perked up and walked back over to his mother and Sirius.

"Mum, where's the telephone. Lily left me her number. We can tell her how were going to get there and then just wait until Remus shows up to leave." He ran his hand through his hair. Euphemia smiled. It was a similar tick to what his father used to do when he was trying to woo her. He's settle his hair down. James wanting to be nothing like his father often did the opposite.

"I think Remus is here," Sirius said looking out the backdoor. He opened it and Remus appeared on his broom. He rested it outside the door and walked in. "Hey, Moony," Sirius patted his back. Remus returned the favor and smiled back.

"Prongs," Remus nodded. James blushed when his mother raised an eyebrow.

"Do you wish to tell me how you came up with these names, Prongs?" she asked mocking a threat to him.

"Just. I." James looked side to side for an answer.

"I didn't know you weren't aware your son's favorite animal is a stag. _Favorite_ animal. If he gets the chance, he'll put antlers on me. Just like this _cervifors_." Sirius pointed his wand at James and James grew antlers. James blushed. He looked in the mirror and was a little angry the antlers weren't as big as his stag antlers. "He'll give me antlers then tell me to go stag to a party." Sirius smirked.

"You'll be getting a letter, Sirius." Euphemia shook her head. Sirius shrugged.

"My parents don't care. They'll probably blame you, but that won't stop me from visiting." He smirked. Euphemia rolled her eyes at him and turned to Remus.

"And Moony?" Euphemia stared Remus down. Remus blushed deeply. His feet suddenly started digging at the floor.

"Can't sleep on during the full moon," Sirius answered. Which wasn't totally a lie. James came over grinning.

"He's jumps around all night long wanting to play," James added. Euphemia nodded and looked at them skeptically.

"What's your name, Sirius?" All three of them paused and thanked Merlin Peter wasn't there to give the actual name, because you couldn't really explain that one. "Well?" she asked.

"It's a little too inappropriate. See I'm skilled with the ladies and-."

"It's Padfoot because he loves puppies so much, Mrs. Potter." Remus rolled his eyes and made a gagging face. Euphemia laughed.

"That's cute. James, I hope you aren't hexing innocent people, though. Tell me you've gotten over that. I know it was just a childish thing you'd grow out of." James felt like he shrunk into himself. He was planning on acting more mature. Actually so Lily Evans would notice him as something other than a bully, hopefully a possible boyfriend one day.

"I've stopped that, but I will be hexing Sirius. He deserves it." He smirked and planned a way to get back at Sirius for the antlers.

"What's her address, James?" Fleatmont asked. He ran in with an owl and his parchment. James frowned.

"I don't know. She only gave me her number." Remus raised an eyebrow. Sirius puffed out his chest.

"She asked me on a movie date, wants to talk with you, and asked James to accompany us to Cokeworth." He grinned to his friend. Remus laughed.

"Here I thought she just wanted to talk with me by telephone. She wanted a date with Padfoot." James glared. "And his bodyguard James," Remus thought on his feet. James smirked.

"Dad, how do you use the telephone? We can ask her that way." Fleamont nodded and walked them over to the telephone on the wall by the door.

"Who will be speaking?" he asked looking at each of his prospects.

The three boys looked at each other. Sirius and Remus looked to James a little wary of this Muggle device. "I guess, I will," James answered. Fleamont nodded with a smile.

"Okay. You type the numbers she gave you into this part." He typed a few in. "You speak in a normal tone, like you would if she was in the room. Like I'm doing right now." He stared at all of them. "That's really important, because if you yell you will be yelling in her ear and Muggles get really mad at you. They think you're doing it on purpose and they hang up on you and never call you back and you can never call them back because they yell in your ear." Fleamont paused and stared at James.

"Okay," James nodded seriously. Sirius and Remus watched him trying to hold back laughs at his intense expression.

"To hang up which will end the call, you place the receiver on the phone, like this." He showed them how to place it. "But I suggest you wait until you hear this sound." He pushed the phone next to James' ear, then Remus, and finally Sirius. Thinking they all needed to know this information. "You talk into the phone in this end." He pointed to the end with the cord on in. "You'll hear a ringing noise once you've dialed the numbers. That's good. If you don't hear her voice after all the rings, you have to dial the numbers again. Did I tell you, you have to dial the numbers in the order they are given in. Because otherwise you'll talk to some random Muggle."

James nodded seriously again. "So. Dial the numbers in the order on this thing." He pointed to the keypad. Fleamont nodded proudly. "Talk through this end, how do I hear her?" Fleamont jumped excitedly.

"You listen through the other end. You'll be able to hear her like she's right in the room. It's amazing. Fantastic design. I'm really proud of the Muggles." He grinned then frowned and said, "My Muggle friends don't find the telephone as interesting, though. So best not to talk a whole lot about them." James nodded seriously when Remus and Sirius chuckled with his father. "Okay, here you go." He handed James the phone and walked away. "Don't forget to tell me her address. I'll be in the kitchen waiting with Johnny. Just yell it to me." James nodded again.

"You got this, Prongs." Sirius patted him on the back. James took out the blue and white paper that was Lily's letter and dialed the numbers onto the keypad.

"Is that Muggle paper?" Remus asked. James nodded. "Why are there lines on it? We should ask Lily."

James put the phone next to his ear, but Remus grabbed it and put his ear next to James' face, and soon Sirius was right next to him, their three heads squished together each of them holding the phone with one hand. They listened to the rings and then the rings stopped. "Hello?" a voice asked. They looked at each other.

"Tell me your address," Sirius ordered. There was a yelp and the phone made that humming noise.

"Sirius!" James whined. "We didn't even know if that was Lily. We could have gotten some Muggle." Sirius frowned.

"I thought it sounded like Lily."

"It did, but she didn't know who we were and she could have thought we were going to hurt her."

"I thought this machine told her that it was us who she was talking to!" Sirius punched James in the arm. James punched him back.

"Dad! Does the telephone tell Lily it's us calling?" he asked.

"No, James. You have to tell her who you are. Do I need to come explain it all again?"

"NO!" James redialed and they listened to the ringing.

"Hello?"

"Lily?" James asked.

"No. This is her mum. Who am I speaking to?"

"What's your address?" Sirius asked. James punched Sirius in the arm. He groaned.

"Who is this?" the woman asked again more demanding.

"It's James," James answered.

"I'm sorry. How do you know my daughter?" James frowned. She didn't know his name!

"I'm James Potter. I go to school with her. She asked me to telephone her by owl."

"Oh, Potter. I know that name. Lily, do you want to speak now. They want our address. I think they want to visit. You said they were coming." Lily's mother's voice slowly got quieter.

"Potter?" Lily asked.

"Yes," James excitedly answered. "What's your address? We think we can get the floo power system to go to your house but we need your address. Then my Dad can send an owl to his friend and we can come visit that way."

"Are Remus and Sirius with you?" she asked.

"Hello, Lily!" Sirius shouted. James punched him.

"You're not supposed to yell, Sirius!"

"Hello, Lily," Remus quietly said.

"I heard Sirius, but was that Remus? I could barely hear him. Is he in the next room?" Lily asked. James laughed.

"Hello, Lily," Remus said a little louder. "I didn't want to get punched like Sirius did for yelling. James's Dad said we could talk normally like you were in the room. But I don't think he's right. I'm in the room." Lily's laughter filled their ears. James grinned.

"What's your address?" James asked again. Lily gave it to them and Sirius yelled it to Fleamont.

"Thank Lily for me!" he called back.

"My Dad says thank you," James quickly said before Sirius or Remus got the chance.

"He's very welcome. I'm excited to go see that movie. They're playing it in a few hours. I wanted to go with my sister but her boyfriend's taking up all her time, plus she never really wants to go anywhere with me. You're all doing very well on the phone, besides Sirius. When Marlene called the first time she was yelling into the wrong end." She laughed again. James, Sirius, and Remus looked at each other confused at this bubbling Lily.

"I'm excited about the movie too," Sirius said quickly getting over his confusion. "What's it about? Is it another shark movie? Because I don't know if I'll be able to look at water ever again if it is," he joked. James frowned deeply. He was excited to see his first Muggle movie, but was still jealous of Sirius.

"No. This ones about a man and boxing. Which is fist fighting if you didn't know, but with gloves on to protect their faces and body. I think it's about his struggle to become a good boxer. It looks good. I've heard great things about it. Or rather read great things in the newspaper." James had so many questions about her statement.

"Exciting," Remus said. "What did you want to talk about? My letter? Because I think my letter speaks for itself, Lily. I meant everything I said."

"I do want to talk about that, but I need to see your face. Sorry, Remus. I won't say anything else." Remus got a knot in his stomach and he felt sick. Did she want to humiliate him in front of his friends? James gave him a weird look and Sirius patted him on the back feeling his friend's discomfort. "Besides I want you to meet my mum. I haven't told her anything, but she wants to know all about the Marauders I've been telling her about you for the past 5 years. She's very excitable about magic and thinks all the pranks you make up, well the ones against Slytherins and the ones with fireworks or traps, she thinks they're amazing. I can't really explain them well, but she finds you very interesting."

"Really?" James enthusiastically asked.

"Yeah. I can tell you all this when you get here and meet her. You'll be able to tell though. She'll want to see your wands and, well we can't do any magic, but we can tell her, right? I-."

"My dad can come and show her magic! He'll be happy to meet a Muggle," James cut her off.

"Oh. That would be great. Is that how floo powder works? Does he have to come with you?" Sirius and James frowned.

"You don't know how floo powder works?" Sirius asked. There was an awkward silence.

"So basically," James started after giving Sirius a look. "You step into the fireplace and use this special powder to start the flames and then you say where you want to go."

"Then you're flying through all the chimneys and you have to watch for the home you want-," Sirius interjected.

"Because you're just taken to the area you want, not the actual fireplace," Remus added.

James elbowed Sirius and started again with, "Then you step out into the home you want and you're in that fireplace. Then you step out and you're in their home." He smiled to himself for their excellent explanation.

"So you set yourself on fire?" Lily asked.

"You'll have to try it, Lily," Sirius said.

"Yeah. We can go to my house," James suggested.

"And we can go to my house," Remus added.

"And mine! No. Wait. Not mine, not mine," Sirius corrected. He shook his head.

"Yeah, not Sirius' but Remus' and maybe even Peter's. We can visit your friends too if you want," James said excitedly. Remus rolled his eyes.

"Really? They all have floo powder systems?" Lily asked.

"Well probably," Remus said. He saw James frown. "We'd have to write and ask to visit anyways. Maybe we should just go to my house and James' house that way we don't intrude on someone." James nodded sadly.

"I can write Marlene and ask if we can visit. I bet she'd say yes. Mary is on holiday." They heard Lily moving around then ask her mum for some paper.

"That's what we can do while we wait for the movie," Sirius suggested. He smiled.

"Boys, your friend's system will be up in running in five minutes. Do you want me to explain the system to her or have you already done so?" Fleamont asked.

"We explained it, Mr. Potter, but will you come with us to show Lily's mother some magic?" Remus asked.

"Please, Dad?" James begged.

"I'd be happy to meet a Muggle. Let me ask your mother, James." Fleamont left their view and they turned back to the telephone.

"My dad's going to ask my Mum if he can come with us," James told her.

"Great. I've just written Marlene. Hopefully she'll answer back before the movie. When will you be here?"

"Five minutes," Remus answered.

"Well I have to get ready. I'm still in my pajamas." She laughed. "I'll see you soon. Have to make sure Tuney's not here, she'll go crazy thinking I have friends. When Mary last visited, we had to pretend she was a Muggle but she failed and Petunia and I had a screaming match. Needless to say, we do not want her to see you." Lily laughed. James, Sirius, and Remus had identical saddened expressions on. "Goodbye, see you soon." The humming noise started.

"James, you're still in your pajamas too. And so are you Sirius," Remus pointed out.

"Well you and Lily decided to write your letters at nine in the morning on a Friday in summer," Sirius grumbled. He shoved a laughing Remus and stomped back to his room. James chased after him but Euphemia stopped him in the hall and took his antlers away. "Mrs. Potter, he wasn't supposed know. He was supposed to have antlers for Lily," Sirius whined. Euphemia ticked her tongue. Sirius winked at her. She used her wand to move him down the hallway and up the stairs.

"Remus, honey, what would you like to drink?" she asked. Remus smiled and sat down at their kitchen table.

"Water please." She gave him a glass of water and sat opposite him.

"We only have a few minutes so tell me, does James fancy this Lily?" Remus looked down at his water glass. "You don't have to incriminate him, Remus. Just a little nod." Remus smiled at her awkwardly. "Okay." She covered his hands with hers. "You, _Moony_ , are a good friend." She winked at him and started cleaning up the kitchen. Remus sighed in relief.

James came running out of his room dressed in a short sleeve blue with white poka-dots button down, khaki trousers, and navy Oxfords forgoing his normal t-shirts, jeans, and Chucks. "What did you tell my mother?" he huffed and puffed. Remus laughed a little but shook his head. "What did you tell her?" James took Remus' cloak in his hands and pulled him back and forth a little too dramatically.

"Nothing, James." Remus pulled James's hands off him. "Peter's not here, you don't have to act all dramatic," he snapped a little hurt by his friend's assumption that he snitched. James frowned.

"Sorry." James looked Remus over questionably. Just then Sirius strutted down the hall in his normal black combat boots, black trousers, a white button down, and his worn leather jacket.

"How do I look?" he asked leaning back and looking as serious as he could. Remus rolled his eyes. James laughed. Euphemia whistled. "Good." Sirius nodded and walked over inspecting Remus. "See, Remus, you would look just as fine as me if you'd take that cloak off. We're going to visit Muggleland, come on! Cloak off." He tugged on Remus' cloak.

Remus took it off, mumbling, "Muggleland isn't a thing, Padfoot." Sirius smirked and walked over to the fireplace. "And I'm not dressed as nice as you guys." He looked down at his t-shirt, jeans, and trainers.

"Doesn't matter." Sirius waved him off. Remus shrugged.

Fleamont came out of the living room in a suit and without his robes. "You look good dear, though I can't help thinking you look off without your robes," Euphemia stated with a frown set on her face. Fleamont chuckled and flirted a wink over to her.

"I'll be back in a jiff, dear. Mrs. Evans wants to see some magic, but don't worry. She won't be taking your man." Euphemia rolled her eyes and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. James looked away much to Remus' amusement.

"Okay. I think Lily should see a familiar face first, don't you think. Who do you think she'll want to see first?" Fleamont asked. James frowned. Sirius and Remus both stepped forward. Sirius looked down at himself then huffed at Remus' confidence and let him go first.

Lily sat shaking her leg in her favorite blue sundress and saddle shoes. Mrs. Evans was intently watching the fireplace. "What will happen again?" she asked her daughter.

"Um. I'm not exactly sure. I think they'll come in fire?" Lily suggested.

"On fire? Should I get an extinguisher?" Mrs. Evans stood up.

"No, no. It's magical. Plus, if James's father is coming he can stop that quickly." Mrs. Evans nodded her head the concern leaving her face.

"This is exciting, isn't it?" Mrs. Evans bounced in spot. Lily chuckled a little. "You've been in a great mood since this morning. Does this have anything to do with their visit?" Mrs. Evans asked.

"I'm excited too, Mum. Just don't tell them," she pleaded. Mrs. Evans nodded.

…


	7. Chapter 7

…

House Tours

…

After a few more minutes of waiting, there was a shuffling noise and a little bang before a person dropped into their fireplace with a mass of green flames. Their head and shoulders were up the chimney, but they quickly ducked under it and a flop of light brown hair dusted with soot came out. Lily jumped up.

"Remus!" she shouted. She gave him a hug. He hugged her back slowly. When he looked up at Mrs. Evans, she noticed, besides his height of 6'5, a few scars on his pale face and also a big grin. "Mum, this is Remus Lupin. He's my fellow Prefect." Mrs. Evans shook his hand and there was another little bang before more green flames and more legs were brought into their fireplace.

This time shoulders were hinted at and they were decorated with black hair. "Sirius!" Lily shouted. She pulled him out by the shirt and hugged him. He looked very surprised at her physical contact. His grey eyes popped open and looked over at Remus in shock. Remus shrugged with the same look of surprise.

Another bang and shuffle happened and again the shoulders were hidden at 6'4. The head that came out had black hair that stood at several ends. The boy quickly ran a hand through it by reflex. Lily jumped up before wrapping her arms around his neck. He froze on the spot and stared in shock at his friends. Lily pulled back and looked over at her mother with one arm still wrapped around his shoulders. "This is James, Mum. I call him Potter." She let go of James and pulled back to give him an odd look. "You look nice. Where are your glasses?" she asked. James felt a bubble in his chest at her complement.

He pulled them out of his pocket and put them on. "Didn't want to get soot on them and you look beautiful." He smiled at her. She blushed and dusted off soot with the rest of them. There was another bang and shuffle and a man that looked almost identical to James, but much much older with salt and pepper hair that was slicked into a part with not one hair out of line. "This is my Dad. Fleamont Potter," James introduced. Fleamont shook Lily and Mrs. Evans' hands.

"Hello, Fleamont. I'm Liz Evans." Fleamont nodded his head.

"Good to meet you. Now, I believe I am here to show you some magic." He grinned. Liz's eyes widened.

"Lily," she called cautiously.

"Oh, Mum. It won't do any harm. You always found it so interesting when I did it as a child, and I'm never allowed to do it now," Lily pleaded.

"I can just… Are you thirsty?" Fleamont asked. Liz bit her lip and nodded. Fleamont flicked his wand and a glass of water floated in the air in front of her. She yelped before she stared in awe at it.

"Is this what you'll be able to do?" she asked Lily. Lily nodded and smiled wide.

"I can do it now, I just need to say a spell. I've been telling you. It's all really interesting-."

"Can you do the one where you turn someone's head into an elephant or dog or something?" Liz asked Fleamont. Fleamont was taken back for a moment.

"Hex me, Dad!" James suggested stepping forward.

"Oh, I haven't hexed anyone in years. Not like that. I don't know." He looked very concerned before he flicked his wand at James and James' head turned into an elephant. Fleamont grinned proudly just like James always did. Liz yelped and backed away.

"Mum, it's okay." Lily held her mother carefully. "He's fine. Right, James?" James made a loud noise and his trunk blew. Liz covered her mouth before breaking into giggles. Lily laughed with her.

"He's okay?" Liz asked.

"Probably annoyed, but he's fine." Lily smirked back at James. His brown eyes widened. James purposefully turned to his father and blew his trunk at him. Fleamont put a hand up and flicked his wand again. The second James' normal face came into view, Fleamont pulled James into a headlock before letting him go and patting him on the back. James laughed.

"Turn Lily into something," Liz begged. Fleamont looked to Lily. Lily had a feeling this would not go in her favor but she was excited for her Mum so she nodded her approval. Fleamont turned her head into that of a mouse.

"Lily?" Liz asked. Lily nodded. Liz quickly turned to the gentlemen in her home. "I just had to tell you. Lily was so excited that you were all coming, you could probably tell by her hugs." The boys nodded. Lily started to hit her mother with her arms. She made a lot of mice noises and tried to cover her mother's mouth, but Liz was quickly dodging her efforts. "Thank so much for coming. I know she asked, but thank you. I think you've made her summer."

Out of everyone James had the biggest smile. His father smirked behind his back. Liz winked at him. Fleamont waved his wand and Lily was back to herself. "Mum!" she whined.

"Thank you for entertaining me, Fleamont," Liz shook his hand again. "But I think these kids need some time alone." Lily blushed deeply at her mother.

"Yes. Be back before the end of summer boys," Fleamont chuckled.

"We'll be back with Lily in a few minutes," James said. Fleamont handed James his bag of floo powder, but took a handful for himself. Fleamont shouted his home the same time the green flames lit around him. Lily watched trying hard to catalog what he did exactly.

"Before we go, let's talk, Remus," Lily said. Remus swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded feeling all the warmth leave his body. Lily motioned to the kitchen table and sat down. The three boys took the remaining seats. Liz scattered from the room.

"If you're going to be mean, we'll be leaving and our friendships will be over," Sirius stated the second Lily opened her mouth. Her eyes narrowed.

"Don't think so lowly of me, _Padfoot_." Sirius twitched at the nickname. "I was going to say," she gritted out. "I want Remus to continue to be my fellow Prefect and I would be devastated to see him leave Hogwarts." Sirius and James gasped.

"Remus!" they shouted at the same time.

"You didn't tell us that's what you were thinking." Sirius punched Remus on the arm. Remus groaned.

"I. Lily," he cried. Lily's eyes widened.

"I thought they knew you were thinking of leaving!" She jumped at the sight of her mother and lowered her voice, "I'm sorry. Like I said this was a face to face meeting. I thought that showed the seriousness of the conversation."

"Remus, why didn't you tell me?" James asked. Remus glared.

"Because I don't want to leave, I just would have if Lily felt uncomfortable with my condition." He huffed and looked at his lap.

"I don't feel uncomfortable at all, Remus. I find you very brave. And I want you to know nothing between us has changed. You're still my study-buddy and you're still my friend, if you'll have me. I know I'm the one in the wrong. I should have minded my own business."

"And not threatened your own life," James whispered. Lily glared.

"To save yours," she sneered. James glared at the table.

"I didn't need saving," he mumbled.

"I didn't know that!" Lily exclaimed feeling like this fight had already been had. She threw her hands in the air before covering her face when her mother peeked in again. Lily groaned. "Look I've said I'm sorry."

"No you haven't," Sirius grumbled.

"I told Potter. I assumed he would have passed on my apologies to the group." She dropped her hands to the table with a thud and glared at James.

"I." James looked away.

"That doesn't matter now," Remus interjected. "You're really okay with being my partner?" he asked shyly. Lily nodded.

"Of course, I am." Lily smiled softly to him. Remus grew a small smile himself.

"Good." He grinned toward Sirius. But Sirius was still scowling. "What's wrong? She's okay with me," Remus asked.

"I never got an apology. Not from James for outing me as…" There was a clatter in the living room. "You know what," he whispered. "Not from Lily for interrupting a full moon outing. And I didn't even get a thank you for saving her life! I'm sure that was saved for James." Sirius glared at James.

"Sirius, thank you. So much," Lily quickly jumped in. She pulled at his hands to grab his attention before quickly dropping them. "Both of you," she turned to James. "And even Peter. Thank you for saving my life. I can't owe you enough. Over time I hope I'll be able to pay you back in some way." She covered James's hand for a moment to show her feelings. That pang of jealousy he felt when she took Sirius's hands quickly developed into a flurry in his heart.

"Are we all good now?" Remus quietly asked. They all nodded. "Good. Did Marlene write you back? Or are we going straight to my house?" he asked.

"Um. Polly didn't come back yet, so I guess Marlene either didn't get my letter or Polly's taking her time." Lily rubbed her chin. Mrs. Evans peeked into the room again. "Yes, Mum?" Lily asked.

"Can I see their wands?" she asked quietly. Lily turned to them. James pulled his out which made Sirius pull his out then elbow Remus to pull his out. Liz quickly walked over and stared at the wands. "Lily's told me every wand has a core and a certain wood it's made out of." Lily blushed at her mother's excitement. They discussed wands for a few minutes, letting Mrs. Evans hold them and flick them this way and that grinning like a little child.

"Sorry, I get so excited. This is all just so out of this world." She chuckled embarrassingly. Lily hid her face with her hair. "You can go do your uh magical things." She kissed Lily's head. Lily blushed again and stood up from her chair.

"So how does this floo powder work?" she asked.

"Um. You throw the powder down and shout where you want to go," James explained. Lily nodded like that was the most obvious thing in the world. "You have to keep your elbows in and your eyes open-."

"But there's soot all over the place so probably not wide open," Remus interrupted.

"Yeah," James added. "And like we said over the telephone, you have to look for your destination. Like when you see Remus and Sirius in a fireplace, step out into that one. It's okay if you're off by one or two because you'll end up somewhere else in the house. Just shout until someone comes to get you." Lily frowned.

"Wait. Is it one person at a time? And why don't I go first?"

"It's one person at a time, and you can't go first because you need to see how Sirius and Remus do it," James explained.

"Well why don't you go first?"

"Because I'm the one with the floo powder," James argued.

"Why are you arguing?" Remus asked.

"We're not arguing!" James and Lily shouted at the same time. Lily placed her hands on her hips and James crossed his over his chest. Sirius and Remus looked at each other, but there was a loud laugh from the living room.

"Mum!" Lily shouted.

"Sorry, Lily, but you were arguing with that poor boy." James smiled.

"Stop smiling, Potter, you were wrong too," Lily growled. James dropped his smile.

"Lily, we'll go first to show you how it's done. James will wait here to see if you go or not, because you might not go at first if you speak at the wrong time," Remus said. Lily grunted.

"So go then," she pointed to Sirius and Remus. They sighed and took some floo powder from James.

"Try not to attack each other," Sirius grumbled before he went into the fire and was gone in a flash of green flames. Remus left in silence.

"So. I say, 'Potter residence' really loudly as I throw the flames down." Lily looked to James. He nodded.

"I usually throw the flames down, then say where I'm going as clearly as I can. Wait until you hear the sound of uh-." He snapped his finger looking for the right word.

"Dirt hitting the ground?" she asked. He nodded.

"That works. Good?" he asked.

"Yep." Lily stepped into the fire place threw the powder down and shouted, "Potter residence." At that time, Remus, Sirius, Fleamont, and Euphemia were waiting for her company.

Lily stepped out of the fireplace and shook her head free of soot flinging soot and red locks everywhere. Fleamont waved at her and an older woman stepped forward. "I'm Euphemia. James's mother." She shook Lily's hand. Lily smiled. She really wanted to look around the house, inspect where Potter grew up as she'd tell Mary. James came out of the fireplace a few seconds later and smiled at them.

"Do you want a house tour?" he asked. Lily nodded eagerly.

"I get to be commentator!" Sirius nabbed. He ran into the kitchen. "This is the kitchen. As you can see dishes do themselves." He pointed to the sink. Lily's mouth opened a little. James smirked. Sirius started to the back door. "This is the telephone we called you from." He showcased the telephone with a few waves of his hands.

"I see that every day, Sirius." Lily stared duly at the offending object. Sirius frowned but nodded.

"Okay. Then let's go to the living room where we have the _Prophet_ , magical knitting, that twirling orb that James's dad thinks is amusing, oh and wireless." Sirius pointed to each item. Lily watched the knitting for a moment.

"What are you knitting?" she asked.

"Mum?" James asked. Lily bypassed him and looked straight at Euphemia.

"A sweater for my dear friend, Quentin. He's got some illness or another, I forget what," Euphemia answered. James shrugged. Lily nodded seeming to take the situation with empathy.

"You want to see my room?" James asked. Lily scrunched up her face but nodded.

"And mine! I have a room here," Sirius added. He ran down the hall.

"I don't know if I really want to see," Lily murmured.

"Don't worry," Remus teased. "He doesn't have posters of you in that room." Lily did not feel at ease the way he stressed 'that'. But she followed the boys down the hall and up the stairs. She was pleased to see a normal slightly messy bedroom, overly decorated with Gryffindor memorabilia. Sirius' room was rather bare, except one Muggle poster of _Jaws_ and a suitcase overflowing with clothes that spread across the floor.

"You bought a poster?" she asked a little confused at the proud puff of Sirius' chest.

"I was given the poster from James' parents for Christmas after they heard of my first Muggle movie." Sirius' smile was priceless.

When they were walking past all the other bedrooms, Lily finally asked, "How big exactly is your house?" James paused. Sirius paused. Remus hummed in thought.

"Bigger than mine. Probably bigger than yours. Not as big as Sirius'," he answered. Lily frowned.

"You didn't even get a tour of my house," she defended. "Oh, crap! You didn't get a tour of my house." She cursed herself, bad hostess.

"We're going back. It's fine, Lily." Sirius patted her back. Lily nodded silently half in thought.

"How do you know this house is bigger than mine if you haven't seen it?" she asked Remus. Remus paused.

"Because. Well. I assume you're aware of James' money." Lily frowned. "Okay, James comes from money."

"My father's Fleamont Potter," James hinted at. Lily widened her eyes mockingly and shrugged her shoulders clearly stating she had no idea who he was referring to. "I come from lots of potion inventors, a few Wizengamot members," he trailed off assuming she'd get the jest.

Sirius stepped toward her. "Have you heard of Sleekeazy or Skele-gro or Pepperup?" he asked.

"What?" Lily shouted. "No. Wait? Your father is _the_ Fleamont Potter that invented Sleekeazy?" she asked. James nodded. "That explains some. But Skele-gro and Pepperup. They've have been around forever, I thought."

"They have, but it was a Potter that invented it," Remus helped. Lily's eyes widened.

"So. You're. Rich." She stared at James. James nodded.

"I thought you knew. Everyone knew that." He looked to his friends. They nodded to assure him everyone knew, just not this one.

"I knew you were well off, but I didn't know you were _that_ well off." She stared at the house. "So is this a mansion?" she asked. James looked to Sirius. Sirius shrugged.

"Yes," Remus answered.

"We're in a mansion right now?" Lily looked around her. "Where's a window?" she asked. James rolled his eyes and walked down a long hallway until they reached a window.

"Okay. Come on. Is all that land yours?" She motioned to the acres of land that ended with the edge of a forest.

"Yes." James frowned. Did she not understand? He was very confused.

"All that land. That's your _garden_?" she asked.

"Yes. Evans, I thought you were brighter than this." James took her arm and brought her back to Sirius and Remus. Lily's eyebrows knitted.

"I need to see the front of your house," she demanded. James shrugged and they started to walk down the stairs again, but these stairs were larger than the ones they used before. "Wha-? These aren't the stairs we walked up."

"No," James slowly said. "We walked up the stairs that lead up from the kitchen. Those stairs are little. They used to be only for house elves, but Mum said we didn't need everyday house elves."

"Kreecher is told to keep to the hidden staircases or to apparate. But that's not the worst thing they do to him." Sirius shook his head and grimaced.

"House elves? You both have or had house elves as in plural?" she asked.

"Well." James cringed feeling like she was judging his way of life. "Three or four? I think. At least that I can remember. They left right around the time I was four. They only come now to help with parties and balls."

"Do you have a ballroom?" she suddenly asked. James frowned.

"Yes," he slowly said. "Do you want to see it?" Lily narrowed her eyes.

"After I see the outside. I need to see how big this place is."

"Well how big is your house?" James asked offended at her nature. Lily narrowed her eyes before she realized he was serious.

"Not nearly this big." She laughed. James frowned. He turned to Remus.

"Probably about the same size house as mine if not smaller," he suggested. James nodded finally understanding why she was making such a big deal about his house.

"So if we go straight and then take the first left and the second right, we'll be back in the kitchen," James explained. Lily nodded but went straight for the big door in front of her. "No, that's the ballroom," James sighed. Lily gasped when she saw the large room.

"You weren't kidding," she whispered.

"Why would I kid about a ballroom?" James asked. Lily shrugged.

"Now, James," Fleamont said from behind them suddenly appearing out of nowhere. "You aren't going to show a lady a ballroom and not give her a dance are you?" Fleamont smiled and winked at his son. Lily blushed deeply.

"That's okay, Mr. Potter. I just wanted to see it." She started to walk out of it.

"Nonsense, Miss Evans. If you do not wish to dance with James, how about I give you a dance?" He raised his arms in a mock dance. Lily looked around nervously.

"Um."

"I'll dance with you," Sirius suggested. Remus looked to his feet and smiled not wanting to partake.

"I'll. If I have to," Lily murmured. She looked over at her three choices. She grabbed the closest, option and cringed when she saw three smirks and one dropped jaw. She chose James who's mouth was slack. "Shut up," she mumbled.

James took her hand and placed his other on the small of her back. She told herself she chose him because he was closest not because she liked dancing with him at the ball. But a part of her buzzed at the feeling of his hand in the perfect spot on her back, not groping but not on her shoulder blades.

"Mr. Potter," Sirius murmured giving Fleamont an elbow to the side.

"Right, music." Fleamont flicked his wand and music started playing from the turn table across the room. "A simple foxtrot will do, James," he gently ordered. James nodded and started leading Lily in the dance she didn't know. At the ball he just wound them around in circles.

After a few twirls, Lily had a small smile on. When Sirius bowed to Remus and Remus took his hand and they began dancing, she laughed madly. James slowly brought her closer to him until their chest grazed every so often mid dance. Fleamont twirled and skipped to his own beat. After James showed off with a twirl for Lily, both Remus and Sirius took turns only twirling each other. After a few turns they both fell of the ground laughing. James stopped dancing slowly and both he and Lily laughed until their bellies ached. Fleamont smirked to himself when he noticed Lily kept her arm around his son's shoulder while she laughed. Her hand gripping James' shirt; James' hand still around her waist.

When Sirius stood, he motioned for them to continue on to the kitchen a little green in his face. They walked past the telephone and again Sirius bragged about it. "It's such a fine telephone. Did it sound good, Lily?" he asked.

"It sounded normal, yes."

"Normal?" Sirius whined.

"Better than normal." Lily grinned and winked at James. James felt his cheeks heat up.

"Okay. Well that leads us to the back door. Which is where you can examine the outside of this fair dwelling," Sirius sniggered. Lily pushed passed him and out the door. She turned around on spot to see the house and gasped. It was rather large. "No. You're not getting the best view, Miss Evans." Sirius tugged her arm and walked a while.

"I think the view was fine from there, Padfoot," James warned not feeling entirely sure of this plan. He already felt unsure of his, as Sirius called it, dwelling. After a few seconds, they stopped in the beginnings of the garden.

"It's beautiful, Potter." Lily's eyes danced across the roof and down to the broomstick Remus had left. "Is this where you practice your Quidditch during the summer?" she asked looking around the garden. James twisted on his spot.

"Yeah." He looked from her to his home again.

"It's really nice. A bit big, but nice." She smiled and started walking in. Sirius walked against James' shoulder.

"She thinks your house is big," he chuckled. "If she could dare see mine." He ticked his tongue and shook his head. "Too much money in that pit." He sighed and kicked a rock.

"Cheer up," James patted his back. "We're going to see my first Muggle movie." Sirius grinned.

"Hey, Lily, what's this movie about again?" Sirius ran up to her. Lily turned to look over her shoulder noticing James staying back and giving him a glance before explaining the premise of the movie.

When they got inside, Fleamont cornered James and offered him a little bag. "What's this?" James asked.

"Muggle money. So you can pay for the movie. I don't know how much it is, but it might be a lot. So just ask Lily how to pay. _You_ will be paying." James nodded seriously. "Gentlemen pay, do not let her pay, please. Do not be that man, James." Fleamont rubbed the bridge of his nose as if he was irritated by just the thought.

"I won't, Dad. I was going to ask how I should go about paying for this thing. If I should pay her back with our money afterwards or something, so thank you. I'll let Sirius and Remus know." James took the pouch and tucked it in his trouser pocket before catching Remus' attention and letting Lily and Sirius talk.

"I'm paying for Lily, you, and Sirius for the movie. My Dad gave me some Muggle money." James patted his pocket. Remus nodded.

"I can pay you back later, but I know what you're going to say-."

"You're not paying me back later, Remus. My treat." James stared at his friend, but Remus just grumbled and walked off. "Hey, hey." James caught Remus' shoulder. "Try and distract Lily while I tell Sirius the plan." Remus nodded and walked over to the pair in question.

"Lily, so do you want to continue going about my full moon excursions as usual or do you wish to ask another Prefect to step up for my duties once a month?" he asked. Lily said something quickly to a disappointed Sirius before going into deep discussion about the pros and cons of both options. James took his chance and grabbed Sirius by the jacket.

"What?" Sirius aggregately asked. "You're going to hurt my jacket." He petted his jacket. James rolled his eyes.

"I just wanted you to know we're paying for our four person date. Or rather I'm paying for it. Dad gave me some Muggle money. We're not letting Lily pay. Okay." Sirius furrowed his brow.

"So she gets no choice in the matter?" he asked. "What if she wants to pay her own way?" James frowned.

"What do you mean? I want to treat her."

"What if she wants to pay you back? What if I want to pay you back?" Sirius stepped up close to James.

"Sirius, what are you talking about? I'm being a gentleman by paying for Lily's movie. You can pay half if you want or something, but I've already told Moony he's not paying. If she demands to pay for herself, I can't stop her, but I really want to treat her with this movie she's offering to get us into." Sirius's face cleared.

"Okay. But I don't want to pay half. You can pay full, as long as she's okay with it." He smiled and walked back to the discussion that had changed to how full moons feel for Remus. Remus was quietly explaining it as best he could, and he didn't seem to mind speaking about his pain as Lily seemed in awe of him. "Enough of that stuff. Let's go see Remus' house!" Sirius clapped Lily and Remus on the back and made his way to the fireplace.

When they got to Remus' house, Remus called out for his parents. "I don't think they'll be home, but you never know." He shrugged and walked around. Lily noticed his house wasn't as open as James' but less cramped than hers. She wasn't jealous because she knew people with less than her, but she was a little envious. Remus gave them the tour stopping with his bedroom. It was decorated with pictures of his friends. Lily laughed at one of the pictures that depicted Peter watching Sirius, Remus, and James push some Slytherins into the lake.

"Thought you were a goody two shoes, Evans," James teased. "Laughing at poor Slytherins?" He tilted his head at her.

"No. I remember this day. They had ganged up on Peter and hexed him until he cried. I was the one that found him crying in the stairwell. I told Remus what happened and he told you two. So I feel no shame in laughing." She smirked and raised an eyebrow at James.

"Well good. You have a nice laugh." James turned around and left the room before he could see Lily's reaction to the compliment. She smiled and felt a little flutter in her chest.

"So, why can't we go to Sirius'?" she asked. Sirius tensed up and hid his face with his hair as best he could. James and Remus shared a glance.

"Sirius' parents are pro-pure-blood," Remus explained. Lily tensed up.

"Oh. But Sirius hates those ideals." She frowned.

"Yes. And I hate my family." Sirius scowled at the ground. Lily nodded.

"So you weren't kidding about your home life?" she whispered. Sirius shrugged like it was nothing.

James stepped forward. "Blacks are usually put in Slytherin. But Sirius, being the great guy he is, got put into Gryffindor. Because he's a good person." James wrapped his arm around his friend's shoulders as he talked. Sirius smiled tightly. He never liked talking about his parents.

"Haven't you heard this?" Remus asked.

"Yes, I've heard Blacks belong in Slytherin, and I've heard people bad mouth you and your family. I just thought they…" She shrugged.

"You figured I was just a bad person?" Sirius spat to the ground. Lily shook her head rapidly.

"No. I've known you since third year. You're an honest, sweet, ball of energy. I will be honest and say I was afraid of you for the first three years, but that was mostly because you teased me when I was near Snape." She cringed. Sirius nodded.

"You think I'm sweet?" He looked at her like she was slightly crazy. Lily shrugged and nodded her head a little.

"In the mornings before these two and Peter come down and turn you into your normal self." She pointed at James and Remus who both grinned evilly.

"Yeah, cause we're the ones that corrupt him," Remus told James. Remus laughed and nudged James who also broke out into intense laughter.

"So do we get your house tour now?" Sirius asked. He poked Lily on the nose. Lily wrinkled her nose before she wiped it.

"Yes. Unless James needs to check in with his parents. They seemed concerned with our travels." She raised her eyebrows. James blushed.

"No. I'll. Would you mind if I owled them when we get to your place?" He hung his head. Lily laughed.

"Of course. As long as Polly is back. But it may be quicker for you to stop by and tell them." She flicked her hair and walked past him back to Remus' fireplace. James looked on in shock. Remus and Sirius walked past him sniggering.

…


	8. Chapter 8

…

Movie

…

Lily slightly embarrassed during her house tour. But the boys were in awe over the Muggle photographs and her television. They questioned the huge dining room Lily has, because her parents love to throw parties with their friends. They spent ten minutes watching a program before Lily pulled them away. "We need one of these things," Sirius told James.

"We have a telephone. I don't know why we can't have one. I'll ask Dad."

"Come on. Stop watching telly. I'll do anything. We can even go see my room," Lily begged. James jumped up at the idea of seeing Lily's room. Remus and Sirius had similar reactions. Lily felt tricked, but still showed them up the stairs to the room right in front of you.

She made them stay outside for a minute while she cleaned everything up, even though, "Lily, you saw our rooms as they were!" She managed to shove her clothes and opened letters in her closet.

"Can we come in now?" Sirius whined.

"Keep the door open!" Mrs. Evans warned.

"We're not going to do anything," Lily started then she groaned and covered her face as she let the sniggering boys in.

"Yeah, we're going to have an orgy," Sirius quietly sarcastically said.

"I think it's called a foursome not an orgy," Remus said. Sirius hummed.

"So would five people be an orgy?" Remus shrugged. Sirius turned. "I'm going to go get Peter." Lily grabbed him by the jacket and dragged him back into her room.

"Is that blue or purple on the walls?" Remus asked. He ran his finger over the wall.

"A purplish-blue?" Lily suggested. Remus nodded and sat on her bed.

"You have real photos," Sirius exclaimed. He picked one up of her, Marlene, and Mary. They were laughing at something and dancing around.

"What are you doing?" Remus asked.

"The ones in the house are _real_ pictures they just don't move. That doesn't make them fake." Lily tugged the photo out of Sirius' hands but he quickly picked up one of her and her owl.

"You have a picture with your owl?" James gawked. Lily sighed.

"I was really proud of her; I am really proud of her. I. Not coming from a magical world a bird that knows where letters get taken without having to tell them, is pretty surreal." Lily took that photo and placed it back as well. Sirius chuckled. James picked up one of her pens.

"What is this?" he asked.

"It's a pen. Instead of having to dip your quill in ink, it keeps the ink inside and comes out when you write." She took the pen from his hand and scribbled on some paper.

"Oh, yeah!" James exclaimed pointing at the lined paper. "Why are there lines on this paper?" He picked it up. Lily quickly tore it away from him not wanting him to see the personal letter on it.

"So you write in a straight line. They guide you." She opened a drawer and shoved the paper in it. James picked up a pair of scissors. "Would you stop touching my things," Lily grumbled taking the scissors away from him.

"What?" James frowned.

"Stop picking up things. That goes for you too, Sirius!" She grabbed one of her books out of his hands.

"Wait, that had Muggle pictures in it! I want to read it," he demanded.

"It's a children's book. It's about a fairy princess and a prince. You don't need to read it." She put the book back in its place.

"But I want to," Sirius whined.

"Let him read the book, Evans," James urged. Lily glowered at him. "What?" he asked.

"Let's go to the movie." She stalked out of her room. James nicked one of her many pens and shoved it in his pocket. "Mum! We're leaving." Lily looked around.

"Good, because Petunia just rolled up with her boyfriend," her mum answered from the front window. Lily jumped. She grabbed Remus' and James' hands and dragged them down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Did Sirius make it?" she asked looking around. Sirius jumped out from behind James and smiled at her. "Okay, out the window." She opened a rather large window and motioned for them to climb through it.

"You don't have a door?" Remus asked.

"No. Dad's always says he's going to put one in, but he never does. Now go," she demanded. Remus sighed and climbed through the window. Sirius followed. "Mum, where's my pocketbook?" Lily called out.

"You don't need it," James told her. He was halfway out the window.

"What?" Lily asked.

"I'm paying." James smiled at her.

"You need Muggle money." Lily picked up a few things on the kitchen table looking for her pocketbook.

"Yes, I have Muggle money. My father gave me some." James took out his change bag and shook it. Lily stared at him.

"Is Lily here?" Petunia said in disgust. Lily's heart raced. She looked at James halfway through the window and took another glace around the kitchen.

"She just left," Mrs. Evans answered.

"Good because Vernon's here." Petunia started moving toward the kitchen.

"It's really Muggle money?" Lily asked. James nodded. Lily shoved him out the window and followed quickly hitting her leg on the way down. "Go, go!" She shoved Sirius and James and started to run out of her back garden. They quickly followed.

"What was that all about?" Remus inquired as they reached the sidewalk on the front side of her house.

"Petunia would have caused a big row out of you being here. She hates everything magical. She would have thrown a temper tantrum and I would have hexed her by accident-."

"Accident? Since when do you hex by accident?" James laughed.

"I do it with Petunia. She messes with me and I get so overwhelmed magic just radiates off me and hits her. She usually gets stung. Once her nose started to lengthen and another time her hair turned blue. She had to wear hair dye for a month." Lily started to giggle. She hid her mouth.

"She gets you that riled up? Even I can't do that." James chuckled. Lily looked down.

"Sometimes you do. Once or twice I haven't had to use my wand for a hex. I'm pretty sure in third year when you kissed me half of those hits were not thought out." She smiled shyly. James stared at her in awe. They all thought of how powerful a witch she must be to cause sure serious harm without even thinking about it.

"Use your powers for good!" Sirius piped. He jumped up and behind James.

"What are you Peter?" Remus grumbled. Sirius started to laugh and came out from behind Peter.

"Why is that so funny?" Lily asked.

"Why didn't we go get Wormtail? He would have loved this." James looked at each of them. Lily shrugged.

"We could go back." Remus started toward the house. Lily grabbed hold of arm in a death grip.

"We are not going back into that house until that car is gone," she growled. They all stared at her.

"Is she really that bad?" Sirius asked. Lily let go of Remus and stalked off. Sirius turned toward James. "It sounds like she's as bad as my parents," he whispered.

"Probably not in the same way, Padfoot." James smiled sadly at his best friend then walked after Lily.

"Did Marlene ever mention blood curdling screams in the middle of the night from Lily?" Remus quietly asked. Sirius rubbed the back of his head.

"Marlene doesn't talk about Lily." He started to follow James and Lily a little upset with Remus at the mention of his night terrors. Remus followed at a jog feeling guilty.

"Just. They, caused you a lot of mental harm. I think her sister does the same, but not at the same level," Remus explained. "Maybe you could ask later?" he suggested. Sirius nodded thinking he would. Once school started and they had breakfast with each other again, he would confess about his home life and ask about hers.

When they caught up to James and Lily, they were in a deep discussion about how boxing works. "So they have gloves to protect themselves. How do the gloves protect? I feel like they would make it hurt more." James looked at her. Lily frowned.

"Well they're cushioned. And it at least protects your fist from getting broken." Lily kicked a rock. "I don't know much about boxing. Really, I just thought Sirius would like it." She shrugged. James nodded.

"You always do things for others without thinking for yourself," he quietly said. Lily sighed.

"That's what my Mum says." Sirius and Remus looked at each other for a moment silently wondering if they should interrupt. "She says it's a strength but also a weakness. I have to make myself do things for myself and that's a very mature thing." Lily sighed heavily again.

"It's hard being so mature when you're sixteen and all you really want to do is be five starting on your first broom." James stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Or bike." Lily chuckled a little. "I never worked well with a broom." James's eyes widened.

"You fly, though, right?" he asked.

"No. I don't fly. I just-." Sirius couldn't take it anymore.

"You don't fly a broom!" James and Lily jumped at his interruption.

"I don't own one." Lily thought that was a pathetic excuse. There were tons around the castle, she could just borrow one. Hell Marlene told her she was allowed to borrow her broom whenever she needed to.

"When's your birthday?" James asked.

"30 January, why?" James was silent for a moment repeating the date in his mind. He would write it down later, he told himself.

"I'm getting you a broom."

"No. It's okay, really." Lily put her hand up.

"Prongs, Christmas is before her birthday. You know what I'm getting you for Christmas, Lily?" Sirius asked. Lily turned a little frightened.

"What?" she pipped.

"A broom cleaning kit." He grinned. Lily shook her head.

"No. Really you don't have to. I. I don't need it."

"Nonsense, Lily," Remus stopped her. "Brooms are widely used as a mode of transportation after school."

"What about floo powder or apparation?" she asked.

"What if you want to go to the middle of a field? You can't use floo powder to get there. And apparation can be very dangerous." Remus raised his eyebrows.

"Okay. But I'll save up and buy one. I barely know you guys, I don't want you buying me expensive gifts for holidays." She frowned.

"Barely know us? We've all seen each other's house, we've been in school together for going on six years, and you constantly refer to two of us as friends."

"Not Sirius'," Lily quickly interjected. Sirius frowned offended. "Haven't seen your house," Lily quickly corrected. Sirius nodded skeptically.

"My home is basically his home, Evans," James stopped her.

"So we've all seen each other's houses," Remus began. "I'll try and find you at the station before we get on the train so you can meet my parents. I know you better than I know Marlene or Mary or anyone besides James, Sirius, and Peter." Remus stared at her.

"But I barely know Sirius and James. You, I've been your Prefect partner for the past year. That's different. And you're not even the one offering to buy me something expensive!"

"I know you better than I know Marlene," Sirius stopped her.

"You've snogged Marlene." Lily glared at him.

"Snogged her but barely talked to her." Lily stared at him with wide eyes. "What can I say? She wanted all this but none of this." He motioned to his body then his head. "I would feel used, but it was the same way for both of us." He shrugged.

"Anyways. That's fine. You. I don't want you wasting your money because James is certainly _not_ giving me a broom for my birthday." She glared at her final victim.

"It's no big deal, Evans. I get a new broom for Christmas every other year. This is that year. I'll give you the one I'm using now. And anyways-."

"Do not say it's not the money part that matters. Because I know it doesn't matter to you, but it matters to me. And I barely know you. That is a fact. We've talked several times, yes. I've met your parents and seen you house and you have mine, but we barely know each other."

"I know tons about you. I know how you take your tea, I know you hate your sister but you wish you didn't, I know you are independent, I know your favorite subject is Potions, and your least favorite is Transfiguration. I know plenty of things about you, Lily Evans." Lily's eyes narrowed thinking of an excuse.

"But I don't know any of those things about you!" She pointed at his face. He took her finger and put it to the ground.

"Really? Think about it. Which class am I most at ease in? Think?" He leaned in to her. They had stopped walking. Remus and Sirius looked on ready to support James in this idiotic fight.

"Transfiguration, but that means nothing."

"Which am I least at ease?"

"None!"

"No. Think about it, _Lily_ ," he pressed. "Which am I most frazzled."

"Potions, but you don't have any trouble, you just try not to pay attention which is really annoying now that I know your heritage!" She ran her hands through her hair.

"What's my relationship like with my parents?" Lily laughed.

"Very smothering, but you don't seem to mind at all which is highly odd." She scowled at him.

"How do I take my tea, and think about it. This one's hard." His eyes narrowed.

"You never drink tea around me!" She threw her hands in the air.

"Yes I do! Think. What goes in my tea during lunch?"

"Nothing goes in, you idiot! You put nothing in like a lunatic!" She stomped one of her feet toward him. "You drink it black!"

"What's my most annoying trait?" he asked.

"Your arrogance," she spit. He sneered a smile toward her.

"Put them all together would you?"

"God dammit, I know you!" She shouted. She mocked pulling her hair out and stomped away. Remus and Sirius sniggered and leaned into James.

"You really do get her riled up," Sirius laughed.

"Yeah. She just stung me," James ran his hands over his chest. Sirius and Remus' eyes popped over at him.

"Really?" they asked together.

"Yeah, not bad, but like a low sting over my chest." He brushed off his chest. "I don't think she'll want to see me first, so you might want to go." He pointed at Remus.

"I don't want to get stung." He backed away. James rolled his eyes.

"She won't sting you." James took Remus' shoulder and shoved him near Lily who had taken to standing stiffly with her arms over her chest and back turned to them.

"Lily," Remus sang standing a good distance away from her. Lily grunted in reply. "When's the movie?" he asked. Lily gasped and checked her watch.

"In a few minutes, come on we have to go." She gripped his wrist and pulled him down the street.

"Why are you ditching us?" Sirius yelled.

"We're going to be late to the movie!" Lily yelled back. James and Sirius started to sprint after them.

"So, Padfoot," James began. Sirius looked back at him. "You said a movie is like many pictures put together for a really long time." Sirius nodded. "So it's like if the camera kept taking the picture?" he asked. Remus leaned in to listen.

"Exactly. You'll see." Sirius followed Lily into the theater. James and Remus looked around the outside of the building. Lily pulled one arm out of the door, grabbed James by the shirt and pulled him into the theater effectively calling Remus with him.

"Act normal," Lily growled. "Now where is your money?" she asked. James pulled out his change pouch. "Okay. Do you know how to count it?" James shook his head. "Okay, then let me take care of that." James pulled the bag into himself.

"You don't pay with the Marauders," James stated. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Potter, you're still paying; I'm just handling the money." James paused before handing her the bag. She nodded a thank you and pulled out what he had. Lily's eyes widened.

"Is it a lot?" James asked.

"It's two hundred pounds," Lily whispered. James shook his head in confusion. "That's forty galleons." She raised her eyebrows. James' mouth turned into an o.

"How much do movies cost?" he asked after a moment of thought.

"Like three galleons each." She looked at him in shock. "Plus popcorn which is two galleons."

"So. Too much money?" James cringed. Lily rolled her eyes.

"No. No. It'll just about cover us," Lily said sarcastically. James looked to Sirius who sniggered.

"So you eat popcorn?" James asked.

"Yes, I eat popcorn," came Lily's snarky replied.

"No. He means at the movie," Remus correctly. A large man chuckled next to them.

"What is it your first time?" he jokingly asked.

"Yes," James and Remus replied. The man's eyes widened.

"Um. They're. They. It's they're first movie!" Lily exclaimed trying to come up with a reason. Sirius pushed her aside.

"They come from a small village where they have no cinema," Sirius explained. The man nodded his head.

"Well… have fun." The man gave an odd look to his date and dashed off.

"What was that?" Lily snapped.

"What?" Remus asked.

"I told you to act normal," she whispered fiercely.

"We were," James defended. "We answered his question."

"It was rhetorical," she bit.

"How were we supposed to know that?" James bit back.

"I don't know a little thing called common sense." She sneered at him. He sneered back.

"We're already going to see a movie about fighting I don't really want to watch you two do that right before." Remus shoved James away from Lily. "We're going to the loo," Remus declared. He shoved James in the right direction. "To have a little talk about how you win a girl over," he murmured in James's ear.

"So we should get popcorn for the group?" Sirius suggested. Lily nodded watching James and Remus argue on the way to the bathroom. "Lily, what should we get?" Sirius asked looking at the menu in line. Lily frowned watching the two. "Lily?" he asked. Remus and James snap at each other. "Evans!" Lily jumped and turned to him. "What should we get?"

"Um. Large? Do you want a drink? Should we get drinks?" Lily wrung her hands. Sirius sighed.

"It's your first date with James," he teased. Lily reached for her back pocket before halting suddenly and glaring at him.

"I would hex you if we weren't with Muggles." She pinched his side. He yelped.

"Not to mention it's summer." Sirius laughed evilly.

"We're getting two drinks with two straws. I never finish a full one and that worked fine for us last time." Sirius waggled his eyebrows. "Please, you're thinking too highly of yourself."

"Who you gonna share with?"

"It depends on who I sit next to."

"Who you gonna sit next to?" Sirius bumped shoulders with her.

"I might sit with you and hog all the popcorn if you don't stop doing that." Sirius sobered up and nodded his head. "What type of drink do you want?"

"The one we tried last time." Sirius bounced on the balls of his feet. Lily cringed.

"I drank too much of that mixed with firewhiskey one night and let's just say I never want to drink that again." Lily cringed. Sirius' eyes widened.

"You drink?" he gasped. Lily chuckled.

"Have you met Mary? Of course we drink. Plus it's hard not to with those Gryffindor parties." She grinned.

"I always thought you stuck to punch to be in charge of the younger kids."

"No. That's Dorcas. She swore off drinking until she was of age. Said she had to prove something to her brother." Lily rolled her eyes. "She doesn't judge us necessarily, she just doesn't drink." Sirius nodded.

"We all suggested Peter do that in third year." Lily gaped at him.

"What?!"

"Yeah. He's been drinking since he was nine."

"You're kidding."

"No. He got drunk once when he was nine off spiked punch. For two years he got drunk at every party his parents threw without knowing it, and when his parents finally said Peter you're pissed, he loved it too much. He steals a bottle of firewhiskey from his Dad and drinks it. The rest of us didn't touch it until fourth year. He begged us, but you remember how it tastes awful at first?" Lily nodded. "We thought that so we didn't drink it. He would get pissed by himself while we worked on our…" Sirius paused remembering that Lily didn't know about the map.

"Homework? Really? You worked on homework while Peter got pissed?" Lily started to laugh. "That's hilarious. I can just imagine a twelve year old Peter wobbling around pissed while you, Remus, and James try and do homework." She held her stomach. Sirius frowned.

"It's a problem. Was a problem." Sirius pulled at her shoulders trying to get her to stand up.

"What's so funny?" Remus asked. James frowned at her.

"She's imagining a twelve year old pissed Peter." Sirius finally pulled her up. James and Remus glared at Sirius.

"You told her!" Remus shouted.

"I. I." Sirius looked to the ground.

"What's the big deal? It's funny." Lily frowned at them.

"Peter's really ashamed of that," James explained lowly. "He made us promise not to tell. He's. He's always been ashamed of it. And we promised." James shot a killing stare at Sirius.

"Like you've never told anyone!" Sirius shouted.

"My parents are different," James hissed. "I was genuinely worried about him in first year and I even made them swear not to tell anyone, which they did as long as I promised to not join in _and_ try and talk him out of it, which I did."

"Your parents knew about this and they did nothing?" Lily looked on in shock. James turned sharply in her direction to address her.

"For your information, they trusted me to take care of it. They knew I could have kept it from them but I chose out of my own free will to tell them. They worried about it and ask about it every so often, but other than that they left it be." He stared at her. "And you better keep your mouth shut about Peter's past, Evans," he growled.

Lily straightened her face. "Okay, okay. Calm down. I won't tell anyone. I won't even tell Peter." Lily raised her hands in defense. James nodded. Lily lowered her hands. "What kind of fizzy drink do you want?"

"Fizzy drink?" Remus asked.

"What you mix with firewhiskey that bubbles," Sirius helped.

"I don't know the kinds. Do you, James?" James shook his head.

"Okay. That's fine. We'll get the one Sirius wants and the one I want and we'll have you two taste each to see which you want." Lily clapped her hands together.

Five minutes later Lily was sitting between James and Sirius in a dark theater being teased for sharing a drink with the former by the latter. "So. Should Remus and I ditch halfway through so you two can snog or something?" Sirius whispered. Lily's cheeks burned. This was so stupid. It wasn't awkward when she shared with Sirius. But now, with James, she was terrified to drink out of her straw.

When the lights dimmed, she felt James' arm wrap around her shoulders. She jumped, leaned forward, and turned to look at him with her mouth open. James didn't look at her. Instead he smack Sirius in the back of the head and returned to where he had been before. He looked at her innocently.

"Evans, you okay? Were Sirius' comments so bad you wanted to puke? Because I can run and get you one of those buckets to throw up in." He leaned forward as if he was going to get it. Lily leaned back. Sirius sniggered. James pulled a straight face until the first preview started then he broke out in chuckles.

"Arseholes," Lily cursed. James grinned over at her. He looked so gleeful a smile pricked at her lips. She let a few breathy chuckles out. Sirius snorted. Remus looked over to see what was so funny and decided to just watch them and eat the popcorn. Lily smacked both snickering James and Sirius in the back of the heads. "Watch the movie, dicks." She hit them again in the chest to get them to sit back in their seats.

…


	9. Chapter 9

…

Football

…

The whole walk home James and Sirius couldn't stop talking about taking boxing lessons. James had it all planned out. He'd tell his parents he wanted to make Muggle friends in the nearby town which he was positive had a boxing class because he always passed the windows with them practicing when he took his invisibly cloak for a stroll to see the Muggle town. Sirius could join him, if he wanted, which he obviously did. They'd learn to box, then they'd take a speed bag and put it in their dorm room at Hogwarts. James was positive it'd help his Quidditch.

"The movie said boxing is good for reflexes and I need the best reflexes for Quidditch. It'd help my reflexes," James raptly spoke. Sirius nodded and oohed in agreement.

"Not to mention anger issues," Lily grumbled. They stared at her. "That's what I'd call hexing innocent students who get on your nerves, an anger issue." She gave him a blatant look. "Take all your anger out on the bag." She shrugged. James thought about it. Maybe it would work. Maybe he'd be able to stop hexing kids. And that would lead to Lily actually liking him instead of being indifferent to him.

"Thanks, Evans. Maybe I will." James walked a little lighter on his feet.

"Maybe it will work for me. Give me a fighting chance against my Mum." Sirius pulled up his fists and danced around James. James did the same.

"Mum, what about Dad?" James asked. Sirius danced a little closer.

"Dad? Ha! He'll be down in one punch." Sirius slowly moved to fake punch James in the face. James dramatically fell to the ground. Remus got on the ground and counted out to ten. Lily barked out into laughter. Remus jumped up and raised Sirius' hand in the air. Lily held her chest and took a deep breath.

"Better, get you home, right?" she teased. Sirius roared. Lily raised her hands in mock surrender and laughed trying hard to keep them up.

"When are we going home?" Remus asked he looked around. "Where are we?"

"A few blocks from my place. The floo system is open all day, right?" she asked.

"I imagine Dad said he'd send an owl when it should be closed again." James shrugged.

"Well then let's get going just to make sure." She started on. Sirius jumped of James' back.

"Piggy back ride!" he shouted. Lily turned. Remus offered his back.

"It's not like I'm drunk," she said.

"It's not like they're drunk." Remus kneeled on one knee. He patted his back. "It'll be fun, promise." He grinned back at her.

"Okay." Lily rolled her eyes and jumped on his back.

"Yay!" Sirius pumped a fist in the air.

James egged Remus into a race back, but Lily kept having to yell at James to slow down because, "We have to turn here," she said while Remus raced past. "Potter! Slow down."

"Yeah, right, Evans!" James shouted back.

"No, really, we might have to turn here," James stopped and turned to watch her and Remus walked up to him and Sirius, "but no not really," she cheered as Remus raced past.

"Evans!" James shouted running to keep up. They went on for the few blocks between the theater and her house. Finally calling it a draw when Sirius knocked Lily off Remus and Lily responded by ripping Sirius off James' back.

"What the hell, Padfoot?" Lily shouted.

"What the hell me? What the hell you!?" He pointed at her.

"Calm down," James started. Lily stepped on his foot. "Ow!"

"Lily, why don't we call it a draw," Remus suggest.

"Cheater," she accused Sirius.

"Fine, fine I'm a cheater. Just hide your wand," he whispered. Lily jumped and quickly did so. She blushed wildly.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," she whispered to herself. "I shouldn't have even brought it. I'm in the Muggle world. I have to be a Muggle here," she whispered to herself shoving her wand deeper in her pocket. Her body started to shake. She felt two warm hands on her arms.

"Lily, shh," she heard. Lily turned and pushed her face into their chest. They started petting her hair. "You don't have to be a Muggle just because you're in a Muggle world. You're a witch. Just, we shouldn't have teased you so badly." She recognized the voice as James and sunk deeper into his soft but firm chest. She breathed in his calming sent and relaxed for a moment after her small panic attack.

"You going to be okay, Lily?" Remus asked. Lily nodded against James' chest. "Let's get you home." Remus gently took her arms in his hands and pulled her away from James. She missed the disappointed look on James' face but all three boys knew it was for the best.

"Yeah. Yeah. It. It happens sometimes." She blushed again. "Just mostly when I'm in public here. I get so worried they'll spot me as a witch and then the Ministry will take my wand away for breaking the secrecy act." Lily shook a little.

"It's okay." Sirius wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Lily sunk against his arm. James looked on fondly. She had felt so soft in his arms. It felt so calming. He badly wanted to wrap an arm around her and help support her, but Remus stood next to her shoulder against shoulder. James chose to walk behind her.

"I just miss our world so much during holidays. But I miss my parents when I'm in our world." She sighed and rested her head on Sirius' shoulder. They all silently thought about how that would feel. None of them had that. "Do you know how hard it is to be away from magic for two whole months?" Lily groaned. "I swear I almost die."

"Can't you always visit with friends?" Sirius asked.

"Mary always goes to France, unless she's back visiting her cousins for a week then she can pop by for a day visit. And Marlene says her house is too full with all her brothers and she would love to have me but I'd feel guilty because she feels so crowded already. I've seen her house it's not enough for all of them."

"You could come visit one of us," Remus suggested.

"How? I don't have a broom stick and even if I did all the Muggles in this town would be very suspicious of a girl riding a broom stick." Lily raised her head from Sirius.

"I could always come get you with my invisibility cloak," James recommended.

"You have an invisibility cloak?" she asked. James blushed.

"Yes. My father gave it to me. That's how we get around the castle… when we're in human form." James stopped before he mentioned how they mapped the castle.

"So you could bring me to the magical world?" she asked. James nodded. "Really? Because we still have the rest of summer and even next summer."

"Yeah. Whenever you need a magic fix, owl me and I'll come get you. I'll have to map it out at home, but Sirius or I will come get you."

"You're staying with him the rest of summer?" Lily asked. Sirius dropped his arm and squished up his face.

"I have to go back home for a week. But hopefully I'll be back before school starts. James can get you and you can use his floo system or just hang out with him."

"You'd let me use your floo system?" Lily asked.

"Yeah. And if your parents are okay with it, you can come buy your books with us. We always meet up at Flourish and Blotts then head to get ice cream."

"We usually go closer to when school is about to start. So we just make it one big stay in London. Petunia goes and explores on her own while Mum and Dad go shopping with me. But maybe I can talk them into letting me buy with you guys while they explore on their own."

"They could travel with my parents." James smiled. "They're really good with Muggles. They have plenty of Muggle friends, and it will be a breeze because they don't have to hide their magic with your parents. They'd be happy to show them around." Lily nodded weakly. "My Dad doesn't flirt as much when my Mum's around, unless you count flirting with her." James looked to the side and grinned.

"No, it's not that. I just don't know how they'd feel without me there. They see me as their guide to all things magic."

"Show them that others can be a guide," Remus said. Lily looked up at him. "They need to learn to trust magical things, otherwise they'll never be able to trust your magical friends or your future husband, if you chose a wizard." Lily furrowed her brow. She never thought of that. "That's not too far into the future. You living on your own in a magical world; them visiting you in the magical world. Having to figure it all out without you. Of course you'll always be their guide, but they need to trust it as much as you or as much as possible."

"I'll talk to them about it. It'll be hard enough getting them on board with me visiting Potter's place." She clicked her tongue. "I'll figure it out."

"I can always have my Mum visit you to make them feel better. She can apparte to your house." Lily nodded again.

"I'll owl you if I need you," she said. James fell silent.

"So you really think we should learn to box, Prongs?" Sirius asked.

"Definitely. Once we get home I'll talk to Dad about it. Hopefully learning won't take too long, then we can do it on our own, right? Practice with each other. You want in, Moony?"

"Naw." Remus shook his head. "I'll stick to pushups and jumping jacks."

"Not to mention wolfing out once a month," Sirius teased. Remus laughed loudly. Lily kept a look out for a car in his driveway while the boys talked of their upcoming adventures. Lily cursed quietly when there was a car still there.

"Does he ever leave?" she whispered to herself.

"What?" Sirius asked. He, Remus, and James turned from their conversation to look at her.

"Tuney's boyfriend! He never leaves. They're always snogging, or," she laughed. "Let's be honest shagging in her room, because Tuney's room is down the hall and she leaves it closed and Mum isn't the wiser. I would like for one day not to have him in my home!"

"What's his name?" Remus asked.

"That's not important. She'll probably drop him before the end of summer." Lily waved her hand. "Just. I don't know what else to do with you guys. If we were in the magical world we could play Quidditch or at least sit around talking about stuff."

"Where can we go sit around?" Sirius asked.

"Nowhere, really. We would have to go somewhere private to talk freely about things, because I do not want to hear more about your boxing plans." She smirked at them.

"Don't hit me when I ask this." James raised his hands. "But where did you and Snape talk?" Lily clenched her fists.

"I don't want to go there."

"Okay, but it would be private because you talked of magic there."

"How do you know that?"

"He eavesdropped on your conversations with Snape, Marlene, and Mary," Remus slipped. Remus' eyes popped open at his confession.

"You what?" Lily raised a fist. James cringed when she punched him in the chest.

"Remus!" James shouted. James punched him in the arm.

"James!" Remus called back and punched him in the arm.

"Lily!" Sirius called and lightly punched her on the arm.

"Sirius!" she roared and punched him hard in the arm. Sirius swayed and held his arm.

"Lily!" he yelped.

"Sirius!" James and Remus called.

"What?" he snapped.

"Why did you hit Evans?" James asked.

"I was missing out on the fun."

"Then why didn't you just shout your own name like you usually do?" Remus asked. Sirius looked to the side.

"Lily's name hadn't been called," he murmured. Lily punched him again. "Lily that hurts." He glared at her.

"You hit me!" James held her arm back from hitting Sirius again.

"We got you, Evans." James punched Sirius in the arm and Remus punched him in the other arm. "Since when do you hit women, Padfoot?" James crossed his arms over his chest. Remus mirrored him and Lily turned to stand with them.

"I'm sorry, Lily. It was a tap. I'll let you hex me when we get back to school. I'll even remind you."

"I'll hex you when we get home," James warned.

"I'm sorry!" Sirius threw up his hands. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"I forgive you! Now shut up." Lily covered his mouth with her hand. Sirius started to laugh. "No one should be at the swings and I know a spell that we can use to make it so no one can hear us but someone has to get the letter home."

"Sirius already got one today," Remus tattled. "He made James grow antlers." Lily smirked. She turned to James. Then laughed as she pictured it. "I can do it. My parents will be angry but they'll understand."

"No, let me do it. My parents will get a laugh out of it," James offered.

"Well you both can do it. Someone has to say the counter-curse to stop it." They nodded.

"What are we going to talk about?" Sirius asked.

"Quidditch, or I could try and teach you football. That would get us out of using any spells." They all perked up.

"What is football?" Remus asked saying football very slowly.

"It's this game with a ball and you kick it around with your feet. I have to go home to get a ball, but I'll be quick. Stay here and look normal. Just talk. If anyone asks you something, say you're waiting on your friend. And point to my house, _don't_ say my name. They'll think you're Petunia's friends or be surprised I have any." She dashed off.

"You think her sister's that bad?" Remus asked.

"I don't know. I hope I never have to meet her, honesty." Sirius let out a sigh of relief.

"James will have to one day," Remus sang. Sirius and James looked to him with furrowed eyebrows. "Cause he'll marry Lily and when you marry someone you meet the family." He chuckled like it made perfect sense. Sirius sniggered when he noticed the blush on James' cheeks. Remus laughed.

"Ay!" a man called. Their three heads whipped around. "What are you doing?" He didn't move from his place but gave them a look.

"We're waiting for our friend," Remus called back. James and Sirius pointed to Lily's house. The man frowned then nodded and walked back into his house.

"It's that easy?" Sirius asked.

"You're not the one who talked," Remus muttered. Sirius chuckled. Remus shoved him.

"I'll talk to the next one," Sirius bragged. "We're waiting for our friend," he called out. "We're waiting for our friend!" He jumped and ran from Remus' hands. "I'm waiting for my friend!" he threw over his shoulder.

"What are you doing, Sirius?" James asked playfully.

"I'm waiting for my friend!" Sirius called back. James laughed. Remus pulled Sirius into a headlock. "Moony, what's wrong? Are you not waiting for a friend?"

"Shut up!" Remus growled.

"Moony." James grabbed hold of his arms. "Moony." James pulled at his arms. "Remus! Merlin, man. He's face is almost purple." Remus let Sirius go and blinked. His eyes fell to the ground.

"Sorry, Sirius. Sorry. It's almost the full moon and-." Remus's heartfelt apology was cut off by a woman.

"What are you boys doing?" she asked. James opened his mouth, but Sirius shoved him.

"We're waiting for our friend! Lily Evans," Sirius answered back. The woman's eyes widened.

"Did you say Lily?" she asked. Sirius nodded. James and Remus wanted to slap their foreheads. Lily told them not to say her name. "Where are you from? I've heard she goes away to school, boarding school. Is that where you met?" She started walking toward them.

"Um." Sirius looked to Remus for help.

"Yes, we're friends," Remus said. The woman laughed and nodded her head.

"We go to school with Ev-Lily," James said. He smiled. The woman was now in front of them. She crossed her arms over her chest and smiled at them.

"What kind of boarding school is it? Genius school? Special school?"

"Special school," Remus guessed. The woman nodded.

"Oh. That would make sense. She's always been a bit odd, now. Never can tell what's wrong though. Where are your parents?" She looked around.

"Um." The three of them looked to each other confused. "They're not here. We're visiting Lily," Remus answered with a frown. The woman leaned back onto her heels.

"What kind of special school do you go to? A _special_ school or does it deal with something special?" She narrowed her eyes. None of the boys knew what a _special_ school was but they knew they dealt with something special.

"It definitely deals with something special," Sirius sniggered. The woman nodded but felt left out from the deeper meaning to his answer.

"Do you mean athletics, science, math, the arts, or something else?"

"Some-," James started.

"Mrs. Otter!" Lily called. She ran over to them with a round ball tucked under her arm.

"I heard you have visitors, Lily," Mrs. Otter exclaimed. "They were just telling me about your school." Lily narrowed her eyes at James, Sirius, and Remus.

"Were they?" Lily asked. "What did they tell you?" She stood between Mrs. Otter and the three boys as a monitor almost.

"They told me your boarding school deals with something special. They were just about to tell me what it is." Mrs. Otter smiled and turned back to the three boys. Lily glared at the three of them.

"I'm sorry, what were the options again?" James leaned in with a smile as he asked his question. The woman threw her head back as she laughed and even placed a hand on James' arm. James laughed with her but still waited for the answer.

"This one's a charmer, Lily." Mrs. Otter winked at her. Lily's laugh was tight in her throat.

"Please," James softly asked. Mrs. Otter let out a high pitched gasp.

"Athletics, science, math, the arts? Along those lines."

"The arts," James quickly suppled knowing they dealt with Defense Against the Dark Arts and that was an art.

"Oh! What do you four deal with? Paint, music, dance, poetry?" She looked at each of them. Lily glared at James.

"I sing," Lily suppled.

"So do I," James quickly jumped.

"In the shower," Sirius mumbled. Mrs. Otter looked at Sirius with a frown.

"What did you say dear?"

"I'm a poet," he quickly supplied thinking of the many poems he's kept secret in a journal.

"And you?" Mrs. Otter asked Remus.

"I. I." Remus couldn't think of anything. His mind was blank.

"He plays the drums," Sirius provided.

"Oh. So you're all very talented then. I must say, wonderful. Lily, can you and your friend sing a little for me?" Lily frowned.

"We're going to play football, I don't know if it's really the best time." Lily started to move away from Mrs. Otter pushing Remus with her.

"Oh, please. Just a quick song. Something you sing at school."

James walked over to Lily and whispered, "Hogwart's theme song." Lily shook her head.

"No. We can't do that," she whispered back. She frowned deeply. Sirius whispered in James' ear. James whispered, "That band AC/DC's _Touch Too Much_. You brought AC/DC to us. You know that song, right?" Lily nodded.

"Please, Lily? It would be just wonderful," Mrs. Otter said.

"Okay. We'll do one. We haven't sung together in… in a long time." All Lily could think of was the one night at a party when she, James, Sirius, Peter, and Alice rocked out to this very AC/DC song.

Lily looked to James. "One, two, three."

" _It was one of those nights_ ," Lily and James nodded their heads. " _When you turned out the lights_." Lily couldn't help but think their voices sounded nice together. " _And everything comes into view_." James smiled at Lily.

" _She was taking her time, I was loosing my mind_ ," he belted out. Lily left it to him. " _There was nothing that she wouldn't do_."

" _It wasn't the first, it wasn't the last_ ," Lily started.

" _She knew we was-_." Lily covered James' mouth.

"You get it." She smiled at Mrs. Otter.

"You two have very pleasant voices. Well I'll let you get on now. Play your game of football." She waved her hands and started to walk off smiling brightly.

"Yes, foot-ball," Sirius called after her. Mrs. Otter nodded her head and still thought they seemed like they belonged in a _special_ school. "What is football, Lily?" Sirius quietly asked.

"Like I said it's a game with this ball where you kick it around with your feet. You try and score a goal, but we'll get to that a bit later."

"I can kick a ball with my feet," James defended.

"Yes, but can you pass with your feet or punt the ball?" Lily looked over her shoulder. "It'll be easy once you learn, but at first you'll all look like toddlers, at least to me." She chuckled.

"I never look like a toddler." Sirius gagged on his words a little. "Babies, really? They're so yucky."

"When have you ever seen a baby, Padfoot?" James asked.

"I." Sirius frowned. "I know they smell and they can't walk and it's stupid. They're stupid."

"They're babies," Remus slowly said.

"And they're awful." Sirius screwed up his face. Lily laughed.

"Remind me, Potter, to tell him this when he has his first child and is crying because it's so beautiful, Prongs, just look at it." Lily chuckled. James and Remus laughed with her.

"I would never have children," Sirius grumbled. Lily laughed.

"Watch him have seven," James sniggered. Sirius hit him in the arm.

"I'll be a bachelor for life!" Sirius puffed out his chest. Lily stopped at a field and put the ball on the ground. She kicked it toward Remus.

"Kick it back," she ordered. Remus nudged it with his foot. "No. Kick it back to me." She motioned how to follow through with a kick to him. He did so and the ball flew into her knees. "Good. Almost. Just keep your foot against the side of the ball so it doesn't fly upward."

"I want to try." Sirius shoved Remus to the side and took his spot. He kicked it a foot away from Lily. "It's on the ground, like you!" He raised his arms into the air.

"Yeah, but it didn't reach her, idiot." Remus shoved him. Lily kicked the ball to James. James kicked it back.

"Told you I could do it." James stood up straighter and grinned. Lily smirked as she kicked the ball upward and then dribbled it against her feet. James, Remus, and Sirius' jaws dropped.

"I can't do that." They all shook their heads.

"Are you using magic?" Sirius asked. He picked the ball up and turned it around.

"No. I'm using my feet. Try it." She placed the ball on top of Sirius' foot. Sirius jerked his foot upward and the ball hit his face. He held his face and shouted.

"Ow! What?" James, Remus, and Lily fell onto the ground laughing. "Okay. I'm done with this. It's a stupid game. We're not playing it." He walked away. "It's time to go home, James."

"No. Do it again," James said through gasping breathes. "Do it again and we'll leave."

"I'm not doing it again, Prongs," Sirius snapped. "Lily, take us home."

"Fine. Fine. But if my sister's still there, we have to do something else." She grabbed the ball and they started walking back to her house.

"See, she's not there!" Sirius pointed to the car. Lily nodded and chewed her bottom lip, hoping Petunia was still out with her boyfriend. Sirius stomped into her house before she could grab the door. Lily rushed forward and stopped him with a hand on his chest. She looked around the corner.

"Lily, is that you?" Mrs. Evans asked.

"Yes, Mum."

"Petunia and her boyfriend went out for dinner. You can bring your friends in." Mrs. Evans came out with four cups of tea. "Before you go, I thought we could have some tea."

"Oh that's not necessary," Lily began.

"Nonsense, Lily. They can have tea with us." She sat the plate down and sat down on the sofa. The boys sat down with her leaving Lily standing.

"Lily, sit down," James said. Lily jumped at the mention of her first name and slowly sat down in a chair. They had a quick tea with Mrs. Evans asking questions about their day, before the boys left. Lily smiled to herself.

"Was it a good day, Lily-bean?" Mrs. Evans asked. Lily nodded.

"The best day," Lily sighed. She slowly walked up to her room and was greeted with her owl, Polly. She took the letter in her mouth.

 _Lily,_

 _Floo powder? Potter? Sirius? Remus? What's going on? Have you lost your mind? Get back to me soon. I just got your owl. It's almost dinner though, so I doubt you still have the system now._

 _Marlene_

Lily laughed and fell down onto her bed letting the letter fall out of her hand. Lily grinned at her ceiling. It was the best summer day.

…


	10. Chapter 10

…

Alice Visits

…

Alice was planning on taking a car up to Cokeworth so she and Lily could have a day together. The problem was she had to learn how to drive, which took her all summer. Lily had gotten a letter that Alice was ready to drive to Lily's house. Lily was excited and made her Mum and Dad clean the house.

"It's just your friend, Lily," Liz eventually said when Lily got up on the coffee table to dust the light fixtures.

"I know, I know, but I want our home to look good." Liz sighed and plopped down on the sofa. Lily finished with the light fixtures and got down off the coffee table. She started shuffling the magazines her mother kept on the table, organizing them by size.

"You didn't do this when the boys came," Liz said. Lily shrugged.

"That was short notice. I only had time to fix myself." Lily looked in a mirror and pulled her hair into a braid. "Alice will be here all day and I don't want her to see a dirty house." Liz stared at her daughter. Lily gave her a questioning look.

"Are you saying I don't keep our house clean?" Liz asked. Lily paused and looked around the room.

"No. No. It's always clean, I just wanted to… make it better?" Lily cringed. Her father came in eating a sandwich. "Dad, I just vacuumed!" Mr. Evans stopped walking, held his mouth open for a moment, and stared at his daughter. Lily scowled at him with her hands on her hips. Mr. Evans closed his mouth, swallowed his bite, and promptly turned back to the kitchen.

"Lily, it's fine that you said it was dirty, just think next time not to say that. It hurt my feelings," Liz said always playing therapist. Lily nodded.

"Sorry, Mum." Lily wrung her hands and chewed her lip. "I'm just so anxious to see her."

"Tell me about Alice. What's she like?" Liz patted the sofa. Lily slowly sat down as she looked out the front window.

"Well, she's spunky. She's nice but very fierce. Some people said she should have been a Hufflepuff but that's only because she's so fiercely loyal. She defends her friends through everything. She's a really good friend too. Once I wasn't feeling too well, and she poured me some soothing tea and put my favorite music on in the common room. She even got me my favorite book and ordered everyone to avoid me. It was really sweet. She's sweet like that. But I think she happened to hex a first year after they made fun of Dorcas for something." Lily shook her head the memories not coming up.

"What's she look like?" Mrs. Evans asked. She liked this girl already.

"She has dark blonde hair that's really straight, she hates it but it's perfect. She puts it in a messy bun a lot. She's got really pale skin, but she always comes back extremely tan in the summer time. I think her eyes are green or brown or both. I can't remember but I do know that Frank serenaded her one time and used green eyes in the song."

"Serenade?" Liz laughed at the thought. Lily smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. She and Frank got together at the beginning of the year. For her birthday he serenaded her. They're really good together. They're both full of brains and put up tough fights. Amazingly they only butt heads about the little things like what song's playing, what someone's name is, and stuff like that. Frank's almost as tall as James. I think he said he's six feet. He's tall but Alice is this short thing. Well not really that short, but she's maybe an inch or two shorter than me, but tiny. Thin."

"Like you?" Mrs. Evans chuckled. Lily held in a laugh and nodded.

"You'll see in a few minutes. Frank always brags and says he could have been on the Quidditch team, but James takes up all the stardom so he doesn't bother." Lily laughed. "He's funny, but dry humor. Really dry. Alice has a similar humor."

"Is he in your year? You've never mentioned him before."

"No. He's a year above us. I think he's a September baby and he was ten for two days at Hogwarts. They sent him an early letter because he had a brother eleven months younger than him, but he died. I don't remember of what, though. I think of dragon pox, a bad case for so young. I wouldn't talk about that with Alice. It's a tough subject. Frank was really close with his brother, and he was away at Hogwarts when it happened."

"So his brother was never in your year?" Lily shook her head. "Does Alice have any siblings?"

"No. Just her Mum and Dad. They live an hour away from us. Her Dad is a Muggle fanatic, he even went to University to study what Muggle's are like. He taught himself how to drive a car."

"Oh, damn!" Mr. Evans shouted. Lily and Liz jumped. "I was going to teach you to drive this summer."

"It's okay, Dad. We can do it next summer. Anyways I won't hardly use it."

"You never know. Alice is using it, isn't she?" Lily's father came into the living room and sat down in the chair. He was a little plump in the belly, a little balding in the hair, and always had his brow knit.

"I guess. Next summer," Lily said.

"I'll get you started tomorrow. You won't learn much, but you'll get the basics. And I'll teach you more during Christmas break." Mr. Evans smiled to himself.

There was a surprisingly loud knock on the front door. Lily jumped straight out of her seat and onto her feet. She took four large steps to the front door and opened it wide. The sight in front of her however was not pleasing. A plump, aggravated Vernon Dudley was standing on their doorstep. Lily frowned deeply.

"Where's Petunia?" he asked. Lily sighed and looked back to her mother.

"Vernon," Liz exclaimed. She jumped to her feet and surrounded the extra space in the doorway.

"May I come inside and wait for her?" Vernon asked as if they should have already invited him inside.

"She's not here now," Lily stated. Vernon nodded like that was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I know that. I want to wait for her. Usually she's looking out her window upstairs." He took a step closer to the door, but Liz placed her hand on the edge of the doorway blocking him.

"She said she was going to meet you at the mall." Vernon raised an eyebrow.

"And how exactly was she going to get there? She doesn't have a car."

"Yes she does," Mr. Evans said. He raised his hand not wanting to stand up. He waved it a few times to get Vernon's attention past his wife. He smiled when Vernon's eyes landed on his face. "I let her borrow my car. She left to meet some friends at the mall. Wanted to get out of the house early this morning. She said she had called you late last night." Vernon's eyes glassed over as he thought about last night then he nodded.

"She did but I don't remember her saying she was going to meet me anywhere." Vernon crossed his arms over his chest.

"Maybe she forgot. But trust me she's there. She wanted nothing with this house today," Lily said. Vernon frowned and looked around the outside of the house. "One of my friends is visiting today." Vernon tilted his head.

"Petunia was very nice and wanted to leave Lily and her friend alone. Didn't want to bother with them," Liz added with a fake smile. Even she knew of Petunia's hatred of Lily and her skills.

"So she's at the mall?" Vernon asked. All three Evans nodded their heads. "Okay. I'll be off." He quickly turned around and walked back to his car without a goodbye. Lily looked to her mother a bit in shock at Vernon's speed. They closed the door together and sat down with heavy sighs.

"So what's this girl look like?" Mr. Evans asked. Lily bounced her leg.

"She's got light hair and probably tan skin. She's nice." Lily shrugged. Mr. Evans nodded.

"So she's like you?" he asked. Lily smiled.

"Uh. A little different. More um…"

"Sassy?" Liz guessed. Lily nodded.

"More sassy than me." Mr. Evans nodded and crossed his hands over his stomach. He tapped his fingers; Lily tapped her foot; Liz tapped her knee with her hand. They sat for about five minute before Mr. Evans slowly got out of his chair.

"Alright. I'll be in the garden tending to my roses. Come tell me when she's here, Liz." He opened the door and there stood Alice with her hand raised to knock. "Oh, hello." Mr. Evans reached his hand out. Alice laughed and took it.

"Hello, Mr. Evans?" Mr. Evans nodded.

"You can call me Joe." He stepped aside to allow Alice in. Alice walked in and wrapped her arms around Lily.

"I've heard you've had adventures with the Marauders!" Alice exclaimed as she rocked her and Lily back and forth. Lily laughed and hugged Alice tight.

"Three of them, yes." Lily pulled back. "You said you were lifeguarding for your local pool this summer?" Alice nodded and motioned to her tan arm. "Mine just burns." Lily motioned to her red shoulders.

"Curse of red hair," Alice summed up frowning.

"Red hair is wonderful," Liz said stepping forward and running her hands through Lily's locks. Alice laughed. She stuck a hand out.

"It is, Mrs. Evans. I'm Alice." Liz pushed Alice's hand away and embraced her. Alice quickly wrapped her arms around the woman and hugged her back. "Warm welcomes here," Alice laughed.

"Lily told me a little about you. Thank you for being such a dear friend, Alice." Mrs. Evans pulled out of the hug. "Call me Liz." Alice nodded. She looked to Lily with wide eyes.

"Dorcas' family is all handshakes even though I've visited every summer since school started. This is a nice surprise. I should visit you more." Alice turned and looked around the house.

"You should. Lily never gets visitors," Liz announced. Lily blushed.

"That's not true," Alice teased. "But I'll keep that in mind, Liz. I heard Lily had one handsome visitor and two overly arrogant visitors." Alice smirked.

"Overly arrogant?" Liz asked. "I didn't see that." She frowned. Alice looked over at her with wide eyes.

"Oops." She cringed. "James and Sirius are known to be little arrogant."

"Sometimes more arrogant than a little." Lily raised her eyebrows at her mother.

"They seemed so kind, though."

"Oh, just because they're arrogant doesn't mean they're not kind." Alice raised a hand to stop Liz from thinking that. "No. They can be nice, but they like to tease people."

"And that doesn't mean they can't be nice. They're funny," Lily added.

"I think they tease and hex people mostly because they think it's funny and they think others will find it funny." Lily nodded at Alice's assumption.

"They were funny though," Liz said. "Were they being serious about wanting to box?" she asked Lily.

"Yes." Lily nodded her head. She sat down next to Alice on the sofa. Alice frowned at the mention of boxing. "They were thinking about learning to box and bringing a speed bag into their dorm room." Alice laughed loudly.

"They want to learn to box?" she laughed and threw her head back. Then stopped suddenly. "Oh crap! They're going to beat up kids the Muggle way." She covered her mouth. Lily scrunched up her face.

"No. I asked that and they seemed surprised by the idea. Maybe if Snape tries something-."

"Severus?" Liz asked. Lily nodded. "Why'd you call him Snape? Is this because he called you that name, Lily. I told you sometimes you have to let names roll off your back and move on-."

"Mum." Lily threatened her with a look. Alice fell silent and watched the floor. "I've told you this was different. I'll have this conversation later." She took a deep breath and turned to Alice. "Alice, what do you want to do? You want to talk in my room?"

"I want to hear all about your visit with the Marauders or at least three of them. I heard from Marlene that you visited their houses." Lily nodded and told her all about their adventures even about the singing with James which Alice laughed wholeheartedly at. At the end of the story Liz had joined Mr. Evans in the garden, Alice looked around. "Is you sister here?"

"No. She heard you were coming yesterday and swore off the house all day. She got up at six in the morning and used my Dad's car to go get a coffee or something. She hasn't been back yet. So lucky us." Lily smiled.

"It's such a quick drive, really. I don't really have an excuse to not visit you now." Alice smiled. "Learning to drive was interesting. I don't think I'll end up using it lots, my Dad doesn't use it ever really unless he feels like acting like a Muggle or he's visiting his uni mates. He's so funny. He insisted on a telly and wireless, because my Mum hates watching it because it hurts her brain. He insists to do dishes the Muggle way when he's angry and when I was little he would punish me by making me do dishes the Muggle way. He would literally stop the magic and make me do it by hand. Things like birthday cakes, Muggle way. He always tells stories of his Muggle university days. He forgot all magic and became a Muggle for four years." Alice shook her head. "He says it means more when you don't use magic." Lily smiled.

"I think I'll be that way. But I might not go so far as to not cook with magic. Certain recipes, I understand. And having a telly would be nice. James was in love with it, wanted one himself." Alice smirked. "What?" Lily asked.

"When are you going to start going out with him?" she lightly asked. Lily huffed and turned away.

"I'm never going to because I don't see the appeal in him! Everyone always says, Lily you should be with James. They wink at me when I'm around him and he does something. They push me at him and he loves it! I hate it. I just want to be able to choose my own life mate. It's like everyone thinks we'll be good together. Why would they know?" Lily ranted. Alice widened her eyes.

"Sorry." She scrunched down in the sofa. Lily turned like a predator on prey.

"What do you see in me and him that you think makes us be good together?" she asked. Alice shrugged. "No, tell me."

"Okay." Alice sighed. She sat up a little. "It's just the energy you two have together. It's so strong. You flirt without thinking, I'm absolutely sure both of you end up flirting when you talk and you don't think you do-."

"Because we don't!" Lily slapped her hands down on her legs.

"No, you do." Alice raised her eyebrows and nodded. "You flick you hair, twirl it sometimes. You fire something over to him and he fires something back. He has that weird hair tick around you. It's almost like he's unconsciously making himself look better just because he sees you. But you do the same thing, you always brush your hair back or check it if it's up. And you don't realize." Lily frowned. "And it's not even that. Both of you have such passion behind your eyes when you talk about each other."

"What?" This time Lily wasn't mad, she was genuinely confused. Alice looked up at her guilty. "No, really. I don't understand." Lily frowned.

"When you talk about James, your eyes turn a brighter shade of green. You sit up straighter, you have almost a smile even when you're upset with him. When you're furious with him, your eyes turn dark and stormy. Your face turns red and you genuinely look like you could murder someone."

"What about him?" Lily sat back a little and wondered if her eyes were brighter as she talked about him.

"When he talks about you, he always smiles. It's not the cocky smiles or his happy smile it's just a smile. It would be ordinary if it wasn't followed by blushing cheeks and twinkling brown eyes. The only reason I know both of your eye colors is because Marlene, Mary, Dorcas, and I sit up at night when you Samantha and Theodora are asleep talking about this. These aren't just my thoughts. We are jealous of the passion you and James have together. We push you at him because we know the second you see this passion, you'll be deeply in love.

"None of us have that passion, Lily. We all crave it. Even Frank and I don't have passion like that. We have passion but it's not as natural or deep. I like to think ours is like your passion, but maybe the passion you and James have will diminish when you get together. Maybe it will be similar to Frank and I's passion." Lily frowned and shook her head.

"You and Frank have this amazing back and forth. You're so comfortable with each other and it's almost like you have the same brain. James and I are so different. We're not comfortable with each other." Alice gave her dull look.

"You are so comfortable with him. I saw you at the dance. In his arms, easily. You smiled. Your body was telling me that you were comfortable. Maybe your brain wasn't but your body was. What did you two talk about at the dance? How did you even get into his arms? Was this some elaborate plan by Marlene or something?" Alice got a look in her eye a look of figuring something out. Lily figured she could have been a Ravenclaw, she was so good at figuring out puzzles. When Sirius and Lily were stuck on a puzzle, they'd wait until Alice came down to figure it out.

"No. It wasn't an elaborate plan, Alice. It was Severus Snape. I had been dancing with Sirius, Remus, Peter, Jake Nowl, Ryan Becker, and Oliver um… Oliver. I don't know, an Oliver. I think I might have danced with Max Collins." Lily cringed. "I danced with a lot of people, and Severus asked for his dance. The one I save for him every year. He interrupted a conversation I was having with Potter actually."

"You had a conversation with James? James Potter?" Alice made a face that was a mixture of a smile and a cringe. Lily actually cringed.

"We were talking about the punch I helped him spike at the beginning of the ball-."

"You and Marlene didn't come down until like a fourth of the way through." Lily rolled her eyes.

"Fine, when I came into the ball. I danced with Sirius and we distracted Slughorn so James could spike the punch. We were talking about that when Severus came calling. He demanded I dance and listen to him apologize again. I said no but he wouldn't listen so I took James for a dance." Alice laughed. Lily shot her a glare. "No. Not funny. Our conversation while dancing was about losing friends and having to deal with that. It was not a fun conversation. Then Remus and Peter wanted to prank Sirius for something and James helped so I went to see why Mary looked so sad."

"She's doing better," Alice interjected. "She's got this… well it isn't a boyfriend but she's been snogging him and stuff over the summer."

"I know. She won't tell me his name." Alice nodded in agreement. "Anyways Snape stopped me from taking her upstairs but Marlene came and took Mary for me. So I was stuck talking with Snape again. He apologized and I refuted it." Lily rolled her eyes. "James actually saved me from having to talk with him more. We danced for one song then he walked me up to the Tower in case Severus would catch me. It was actually a sweet thing."

"Kind of like paying for everyone to go to the movies?" Alice raised her eyebrows. Lily nodded her head a little aggravated. "But why was his arm around you when you walked through the portrait?" Alice linked her eyebrows in confusion. Lily thought back then laughed.

"I had forgotten about Mary by then and we had planned a game of Exploding Snap. Winner takes bragging rights that was after we had a fight about bets." Lily flicked her hair. Alice smirked.

"Wait but you were in his compartment in the train." Lily frowned at that knowledge. "Dorcas and I played a game of chess against James when you were asleep. "

"Oh who won?" Lily asked. Alice scrunched her face up.

"James won against Dorcas then I won, why?" She chuckled. Lily waved her away not wanting to say she really wanted to know. She'd use it against James later. "Okay, but why were you there?"

"Marlene took too long in the bathroom and I was busy looking for my favorite book in the common room which made us slightly late for the train and when we got on there were no more compartments. So Marlene forced me to into the Marauder's compartment. James actually had my book, picked it up with his Qudditch stuff." Alice smirked again. "Again with that smirk!"

"He's so sweet to you," she sang. Lily rolled her eyes.

"If you keep doing this, I'm going to roll my eyes out of my brain. He's not being sweet, he's being a normal gentleman." She thought back to him saving her life. Gentleman she told herself.

"Keep telling yourself that. But what's so wrong with him, Lily? Tell me. And don't say he bullies people, because if you ask he'll stop."

"No! He won't. I've asked him several times to stop hexing."

"That was for Severus. He didn't stop because you were protecting the slime ball." Alice shook her head. "No, seriously. If you tell him it's a trait of his that stops you from caring or liking him, he'll stop." Lily frowned not quite believing that. Little did she know that's exactly what was happening.

"I don't believe that. It's such a part of him." Alice sighed.

"Okay, what else." Lily thought about it.

"His hair." She wrinkled her face. "It always looks like he's coming off his broom."

"Lily, you know he has like five cowlicks. Two in the front, and three in the back. You're only supposed to have the two that twirl your hair into a part. He's got five." Alice spread her hand out and shoved it in Lily's face. "He keeps it standing up because it'll look weird sitting down."

"Yeah, but." Lily stopped and thought about James making his hair more matted at the end of the year. It didn't look right, even she had to admit. She complimented him but it wasn't a true compliment. "Why does he run his hand through it so much?" she finally asked. Alice laughed and covered her mouth with her hand.

"I told you, it's a nervous tick he has around you. I swear, I have never seen him do it when you're not around. When you're sick and don't come to class, his hair stays barely up. It's a tick around you." Alice poked her finger into Lily's shoulder. Lily let out a breath of frustration.

"He's _so_ arrogant." Alice nodded.

"And that's a good trait at times. He never worries about failing. Do you know how annoying it gets around test time when Frank whines about tests and how he's going to fail? I know he's going to pass. You'll never have to deal with that!"

"But he's arrogant." Lily frowned.

"That's the defining trait you hate that won't change your mind?" she asked.

"And the bullying. I could deal with the hair, but the bullying and the arrogance." Lily shook her head. "Can't deal. He'd kill me." Alice narrowed her eyes.

"I think, if you were friends with him you'd see that those traits aren't as big of a part of him as you think." Alice nodded. "You don't have to date him, as long as you'll try to be friends with him. I'm not saying put him in Severus' spot. That was a…"

"I won't. Severus was a friend of mine, but I feel like I often brought too much to him. Like I was almost a part of him where's he was just my friend." Lily wrinkled her nose. "I felt like I gave too much even when I wasn't trying at all, like he took _so_ much from me." Alice nodded in understanding.

"Well then this break will be healthy for you. You won't feel so drained." Lily nodded. "You can be friends with James. And being friends with him will let you see a different side of Remus and Peter and Sirius. They're all so different with James. Sirius is like a whole person. I know you're used to calm Sirius, but he becomes a whole person with James. Remus isn't as shy and his brains just flourish with James. Most of their conversations are of these wild ideas that they both understand completely but everyone else is a little confused, even me. Peter isn't so quiet and I know he's still shy but he comes out of his shell."

"How do you know so much about all this, Alice?" Lily smiled as she asked. Alice shrugged.

"I sit and watch what everyone does. Dorcas and I sit together and talk about everything we watch. It's nice. We both watch everyone and think about why they do things. We join in on the fun, but we're both observers."

"You should be a therapist like my Mum." Alice laughed a little.

"If the war gets worse, I'll turn into a Muggle and be a therapist, or maybe I'll become one for wizards after the war. But I don't know what I want to do." Alice shrugged. "I might fight." Lily nodded in agreement.

"Yeah." Lily and Alice fell silent thinking about the war. Alice brought up meeting up when they shop for books. "I already promised to meet up with Remus, Sirius, and Potter." Alice tilted her head. "But I'll try and sneak away to get to you. I'll check to see if Marlene and Mary are going at the same time and meet up with them." Alice still had a tilted head.

"One more question," she said. Lily sighed, braced for a question, and nodded. "Why do you call him Potter and he calls you Evans?" Lily thought about it.

"I call him Potter because he calls me Evans." Lily shrugged.

"And you don't know why he calls you Evans. He doesn't when you're not around. He calls you Lily." Alice raised her eyebrows. "But you still call him Potter."

"Oh. He calls me Lily behind my back." Lily frowned.

"Yeah. He calls you Lily all the time. Just Evans to your face." Alice tilted her head and watched Lily take the news in.

"Are you going to check and see if I call him James behind his back now?" Lily asked narrowing her eyes at Alice. Alice's face didn't change.

"No. I'm actually thinking now that you have this information you'll only call him James." She smirked.

"Come on!" Lily mock pulled her hair out. "That's exactly what I was going to do!" She laughed big. "You must be Legilimency." Lily pointed her hand at Alice's face. Alice shook her head.

"I just know you. Plus now that you're upset with Snape you call him Snape. I feel like you'd try and get around the whole now calling James by his actual name-."

"Potter is his name!" Alice pointed a finger at her to make her stop talking.

"By just calling him by his _first_ name all the time." Alice shrugged. After that they talked about the new school year, Alice's father, Dorcas' family, and Marlene's family. They had lunch at a local diner and then Alice went home after she saw the roses Lily's parents grew.

…


	11. Chapter 11

…

Flourish and Blotts plus Meeting Mary

…

James looked at his watch and waited for Sirius to come through the floo system. He was a little late, but that was normal. They would meet up at James' house, head to Remus' and pick him up, then meet Lily and Peter at the Leaky Caldron. Lily said she had to make a stop at Madam Primpernelle's Beautifying Potions to meet up with Mary at 10. Remus wanted to meet with Frank and talk about Prefect duties, because Frank was Head Boy. Remus said Frank would be with Alice in Flourish and Blotts at 11. Then they'd find Marlene and Dorcas in Rosa Lee Tea Bag for tea at noon.

There was a small bang then Sirius stood before James with a rush of soot pouring out. James pulled Sirius out and ran into the kitchen. "Mum, Dad, Sirius is here," he called out. Fleamont and Euphemia slowly came out of the living room ready to leave.

"James, are you sure you want us to come?" Fleamont asked. "You've planned excursions with your friends all day. We'll just get in the way." James shook his head.

"No. Lily and I planned for you to show her parents around some places in Diagon Alley. You already promised you'd come." James looked at them fearfully. "We can't do anything if Lily's parents don't have a guide."

"Babysitter," Sirius stepped in. James glared at him. "Well that's what they need," Sirius exclaimed. "My parents gave me money and gave Regulus money. We're expected to find our own things and stay out of trouble." Sirius shrugged.

"I know, but Lily's parents don't want her to feel lonely."

"She'll be with us!" Sirius grumbled. James shook his head at Sirius' outburst.

"We'll come, James," Euphemia stepped in. "I'm happy to entertain some Muggles for the day. And, Sirius, her parents are worried about her. I'm sure they just want to make sure she's safe." Euphemia placed a hand on each boys' shoulder. "Now. Go to Remus' and pick him up. We'll disapparte to the Leaky Caldron." She pushed James in first.

Lily gave her parents a cuppa tea and set them down in a corner of the Leaky Caldron. She paced around the place waiting for Peter or James and Sirius to appear. There was a loud bang then Euphemia and Fleamont Potter were standing in front of her. Lily jumped and gasped.

"Lily, dear," Euphemia said. She reached an arm out. Lily grabbed hold of it and shook it tightly not noticing it was Euphemia's left hand.

"Scared you a bit huh?" Fleamont asked. Lily nodded and laughed tightly. "Well the boys are on their way. Through the floo system so we might as well bring your parents through the archway." He looked around for the familiar face of Liz Evans. "Liz!" he called out waving his hand for the woman to see. Liz looked up abruptly and smiled at the sight of the older man. She motioned to her husband then stood with him. They reached Lily, but Lily wasn't ready.

"No. I have to wait for Peter. He's supposed to be here-." She was cut off by another loud bang. Peter appeared with his father then ran to the nearest bowl, which happened to be someone's soup, and he promptly barfed in it. Peter was then hexed by an elderly woman. His nose started to grow three times its size in a matter of seconds. His father grabbed hold of him, scolded him, and then fixed his nose.

"Peter, you need to hold your stomach during this. One day you'll have to use it all the time," his father warned. Peter nodded but looked awfully pale.

"Hi, Peter." Lily waved. Peter waved back then looked for permission from his father. His father nodded and walked toward the bar. Peter scurried over to Lily and smiled.

"I've heard of the adventures you took Remus, James, and Sirius on. When will I get to see my first Muggle movie?" he asked hopefully. Lily smiled and wrung her hands.

"Sometime soon. I don't know when. We'll have to plan it," she suggested. "Mr. and Mrs. Potter are going to take us and my parents through the archway. Come on. James, Remus, and Sirius are coming through the floo system." She took his elbow and dragged him after her parents and the Potters.

Three up and two over was hit with the tip of Fleamont's wand. Liz turned to Euphemia. "So you're James' grandmother?" she carefully asked. Euphemia laughed.

"No, no. I'm his mother, Euphemia." She shook Liz's hand. Liz's eyes widened. "Yes, he is our miracle baby."

"I'm sorry if I offended you, I had no intention, Mrs. Potter." Liz blushed lightly making her strawberry blonde hair burn red too.

"Oh, no offence, dear. Call me Euphemia. You're daughter has that right and you should too." Euphemia smiled brightly, the same smile as her son.

"Okay, Euphemia. You can call me Liz. I'm Lily's mother, as you know." Liz smiled and shook Euphemia's hand.

"Joe," Mr. Evans said shaking Fleamont's hand.

"Fleamont." Fleamont smiled. Joe nodded his head. Peter stumbled after Lily. "Ha, James." James was wiping soot off his shirt. The second he spotted Lily his hand ran through his hair. Lily blushed her talk with Alice coming forward in her mind. She noticed her hands were in her own hair, pushing it behind her ears and shoulders. She noticed he was back to his t-shirt, jeans, and black Chucks.

James watched Lily walk out of the archway in her normal t-shirt, skirt, blue Chucks, and her hair was down and pushed behind her. He smiled, she was back to normal. He noticed Peter jumped out from behind her and squished himself between Sirius and James.

"Hi, guys," he grinned.

"Hi, Wormtail," James greeted. Peter's grin grew two sizes.

"Hi, Wormtail," Sirius said dully. "When are we going to see Marlene?"

"Noon."

"What time is it now?" he asked hopefully.

"Nine thirty." Sirius groaned and bowed his head.

"No!" he whined.

"Hello, Sirius. Am I not good enough for you?" Lily questioned. Sirius popped his head up and stared at her. He was guilty at first then he tilted his head and a wit came into his eye.

"No. No. Lily, I just can't snog you." He smirked. Lily opened her mouth and nodded her head. She winked at him and then looked to her parents.

"Mum, Dad, are you okay with Mr. and Mrs. Potter?" she asked. Her parents nodded.

"Yes, yes. Go have fun with your friends." Liz waved her hands.

"Are you sure? Mr., Mrs. Potter?" she asked.

"We're fine, darling," Euphemia said. Lily looked worriedly to her parents.

"Lily, for God's sake, get out of our hair!" Joe groaned. Lily jumped, Sirius laughed, Remus sniggered, Peter ducked behind James, and James gently took Lily's arm.

"Come on, Evans," James said tugging her arm. Lily walked off with them shooting a look back at her parents. "They're fine. My parents have it handled, Evans."

"Stop calling me that," Lily snapped. James frowned and gave her face a proper look. "I know you don't call me that when I'm not around. Just stop it."

"But." James looked to the ground. "I. Like to call you Evans." He shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Fine, fine." Lily rubbed her brow.

"For God's sake," Sirius sniggered.

"What?" Lily called. Sirius held his belly and shook his head.

"For _God's_ sake. Not Merlin?" He laughed. Remus chuckled. Peter even chuckled a little.

"What?" Lily questioned again before it hit her. "Oh. Oh, right you never hear that."

"It was kind of funny," Remus said. Lily grumbled. James shot him a look. Remus shrugged. Lily crossed her arms over her chest and started toward Flourish and Blotts.

"I thought it was funny," Peter said with his head high.

"Yeah, well it hurt Evans' feelings." James crossed his arms over his chest too.

"Shut up, _James_ ," Lily shot over her shoulder. James looked up with a start.

"She just called you by your name," Peter stated.

"Peter, stop being Captain Obvious," Lily shot. Peter blushed red in the face and ducked behind James with a whimper.

" _Lily_ ," James growled. He grabbed her by the arm and tugged her down an alley. Sirius shuffled Remus and Peter down the road. "Don't do that," he growled as he set her back against the wall. Lily glared at him.

"Don't do what?" she growled back.

"Don't make Peter feel bad just because you're pissed. Take it out on me, take it out on Sirius, but don't take it out on Peter. You _know_ how easy it is for him to get down. I won't let you make him upset!" James pointed his finger at Lily. Lily's heat simmered inside. She glared at him but didn't say anything. After a minute, James stepped back realizing that his chest was against hers. Lily took a breath when he stopped touching her and looked over him in a daze. When her eyes reached back up to James' face, her glare faded.

"Sorry. I'll, I'll go apologize." She carefully took his hand that was wrapped around her arm and released herself. James swallowed and nodded still in a daze. Lily's eyes locked on his. James noticed her eyes were stormy.

"Hey! Peter wants to know if you two want to go inside Flourish and Blotts or if you just want to wait outside," Sirius called jumping out in front of them. They both finally looked away from each other and took a second to take Sirius in. "Hello?" Sirius waved his hand in front of both of their faces. "What have you been snogging or something?" Sirius laughed.

Lily righted her head and said, "No, you blubbering idiot. We have definitely _not_ been snogging. We were having a conversation about how we treat friends. And I need to find Peter." She stepped out from the alley leaving James and Sirius behind. Sirius looked to James, who was blinking out of his haze.

"What happened?" Sirius asked.

"I think I yelled at her," he mumbled. Sirius chuckled.

"Well that seemed to work. You both looked heated and ready to go at it." Sirius shook his head. "Really. I felt like I was interrupting a snogging session." Sirius laughed again. James shook his head still in disbelief. "Hey," Sirius said with a start. He grabbed James' arm and pulled him back. "Maybe that's how you get her to like you. Yell at her, get her all riled up, get her in an empty room, and maybe she'll kiss you. Because honestly if I had left you alone for two more minutes you'd have been at it."

"No. I want it to be genuine. Not just a fling or a moment of heat. I want her to actually love me." James smiled sadly at his best friend. Sirius nodded. He looked solemn for a moment before he perked up again.

"Just like you love her?" he teased. James rolled his eyes and nodded with a stupid grin on.

"Peter," Lily gently called. Peter jumped slightly and looked back at her a little fearful. She smiled gently. "Peter, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I should have kept my mouth shut." Peter nodded with his eyes to the ground.

"Thanks, Lily," Peter murmured. Remus smiled at her from behind Peter's short head.

"If James and Sirius ever come back!" she called to the two. They came over smirking at each other. Lily turned to Remus and Peter. "We can go get our sixth year books." She smiled and walked inside Flourish and Blotts.

"Oh, yeah," Sirius grinned. "We're sixth years."

"Sixth years." James walked in a strut. Sirius joined in. Remus ignored them and Peter clapped. Lily rolled her eyes and picked up a book.

"As a sixth year you'll need," Lily pulled out her letter. "' _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6_ by Miranda Goshawk." She threw the book at James. James caught it with a start. Lily threw another one at him. Remus, Peter, and Sirius grabbed one off the pile. " _Advanced Potion-Making_ by Libatius Borage." Lily looked through a shelf before tossing two books James' way. He caught each with wide eyes looking at the four books in his hands and fearfully thinking of trying to catch two more books Lily would throw. " _Confronting the Faceless_ ," Lily read before finding the book and placing two on the pile in James' hand. " _A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration_ by Emeric Switch."

She was in the process of placing the books on the pile when James teased, "You'll need to start reading this straight away if you're thinking of getting an O." James sniggered. Lily looked him straight in the eye before she tipped the pile of books onto the ground. Remus, Sirius, and Peter oohed and cheered Lily on. James gave them each a glare before picking the books up. Lily flicked her hair and turned back to the paper.

" _Advance Rune Translation_. Oh, Peter, that's for you." She tossed him the book but the book just went by his face. He got on the ground and picked it up. "And finally. _Flesh-Eating Trees of the World_. That sounds like fun." She placed two on James' pile. "Thank you James." She turned toward him and picked out one of each book for herself. James smirked at her.

"Won't let me pay?" he teased. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Please. You'll have to fight your way to pay for me ever again." She winked at him before turning around in the line to pay. Her cheeks turned red the second her back was to him. Sirius hit him on the shoulder but James felt weak in the knees. Lily cursed herself. She really did flirt with him.

Lily paid quickly having counted out the money before hand, James paid almost as quickly wanting to see if he could beat however long she took, Sirius took a long time on purpose because it irritated Remus, Remus paid quickly, and then Peter paid. Peter didn't have his money counted out beforehand. He didn't have the hands because he couldn't balance his books and he didn't feel like asking someone to hold them. So he took too long and Sirius threatened to leave him.

"Shut up, Sirius. We're not going to leave you, Peter," James said. Peter started to hyperventilate. "Peter, take deep breaths," James said calmly. "Here, I've got your money. I'll help you pay." James took hold of Peter's gallons and put three in front of him. "How many is that?" James calmly asked. Peter held up three fingers. "Tell me, speak. Use your voice," James coached. Sirius groaned and walked away. Remus followed after him but Lily stayed and watched.

"Three… James, they're mad," Peter whimpered. James put a hand on his shoulder.

"That doesn't matter. Now how many galleons do you need? Can you tell me?" Peter pointed to the sign that told him the price. "Use your words, Peter," James calmly said.

"Thirty," Peter stammered. James nodded and smiled at him. Peter counted out the money he needed then handed it to the cashier who was bored and could have cared less what was happening in front of him. Lily however was the opposite. Alice wasn't lying. James was amazing with his friends. Lily, Peter, and James caught up with Sirius and Remus before they weaved through the crowded street and into Madam Primpernelle's Beautifying Potions.

"Why are we going here again?" Sirius whined.

"Stop whining. After this we'll get to visit the broom shop," James said.

"That's for you," Sirius whined. "I just want to see Marlene."

"Don't get your knickers in a twist, Sirius," Lily said. "She's not even at Diagon Alley for another two hours. You can't snog someone who isn't here."

She weaved through the different potion stations and found Mary tucked in a back corner. They hugged. Lily answered several questions about her summer, specifically the visitors she had. Then Lily dragged her across the store to the front. James was coughing up a storm, Remus was holding his nose, Peter was looking in the small caldrons, and Sirius was talking with the girl behind the counter.

"Mary's here," Lily announced. James nodded between coughs and held up a finger, Remus waved still holding his nose, Peter looked up and smiled broadly, and Sirius didn't move an inch. "Sirius, Mary's here."

"I heard you," he gritted out not breaking his glance with the girl. The girl giggled.

"He's sixteen," Lily threw to the girl. The girl looked to the side then stepped away from Sirius.

"Lily!" he whined. "What the hell? I had that in the bag." Sirius walked over and crossed his arms in front of Lily.

"She wasn't going to go for you. You're a year too young, at least." Lily mirrored his position. Sirius frowned but didn't say anything else to her, he turned to Mary.

"Hello, Mary. Good to see you. Did you know Lily sang with James? She also hugged him, hugged Remus, and hugged me. Danced with James, not just at the ball also on her own. She shared a drink with James. Oh… and what else did you do with him?" He tapped his chin. "Did you kiss him?" Lily's eyes popped out of her head. "No, no you didn't do that that was in third year. But you did have one heated conversation with him where you probably would have kissed him had I not stepped in." Sirius placed his hands on his hips and poked his head near hers to make a point and then he turned quickly on his heel and walked out of the store.

"What?" Mary turned to Lily with a shocked face.

"He's just trying to get back at me. I did all those things, it's not a big deal." Lily waved her hand.

"I'm pretty sure almost kissing James Potter is a big deal," Mary whispered in Lily's ear. Lily started to walk out.

"Potter, are you dying?" Lily asked ignoring Mary. James nodded his head and started to walk out of the shop.

"Can't breathe," he said between coughs. Lily rolled her eyes.

"You just spoke words, you can obviously breath." She looked over her shoulder to make sure Peter and Remus were following and noticed Peter was hot on Mary's heels. She remembered what James had said at the ball and smiled a little.

"Lily, you can't avoid me," Mary warned.

"Please. I wasn't going to kiss him." She opened the door and James flung himself out into the fresh air. He took a deep breath. Lily wrinkled her nose. "Look at him." She pointed to James with his hands on his knees breathing dramatically. Lily raised her eyebrows toward Mary. Mary narrowed her eyes.

"I think you're just pushing it off. I think Sirius was right. James, were you two about to kiss when Sirius interrupted you?" Mary asked. James looked up at her with confused eyes.

"What are you going on about?" he asked. Lily smirked at Mary. Mary turned her back to Lily.

"When Sirius stepped in on your conversation early with Lily, were you about to kiss?" James had a blank face for a moment. He looked back to Lily who was nervously biting her lip.

"No. I had just yelled at her," James honestly said. "She was probably about to hex me senseless actually." He rubbed the back of his head, not admitting the tension that had been vibrating between them. Mary sighed.

"Told you," Lily bragged.

"I need a new caldron. My brother broke mine with accidental magic and it hasn't been the same since my father repaired it. Come on." Mary grabbed Lily's hand and roughly pulled her toward Potage's Caldron Shop.

"Oh, I need a new set of scales. They sell that right?" James asked following. Peter scampered after the trio. Remus snatched Sirius by the jacket and dragged him after the group.

"This is a nice jacket, Remus! You're ruining it," Sirius shouted. Remus let him go.

"Got to make sure you don't get lost," Remus replied. Sirius petted his leather jacket and frowned.

"When do I ever get lost?" James laughed.

"Every full moon. We have to come and find you," he chuckled. Sirius frowned deeply.

"We're not supposed to talk about that with other people around," he grumbled.

"We can talk about it in front of Lily now." James smiled brightly. "The one good thing to come out of that situation." Sirius rolled his eyes. Remus sniggered.

"True. But when are we alone with Lily?" Remus asked. James pursed his lips as he thought.

"Hopeful more to come," Sirius said wagging his eyebrows. James chuckled.

"What's more to come?" Mary asked. Sirius looked to James. James looked to Remus.

"Snogging sessions for Marlene and Sirius, of course," Remus said hitting Sirius in the arm. Mary chuckled. Sirius grinned big. James reached to fluff up Sirius' hair but Sirius caught his hand and growled. James backed off with wide eyes.

"Even you can't touch Sirius' hair," Peter said coming out of nowhere. James scowled at the ground.

"But everyone can touch James' hair," Sirius sang as he ran a hand through James' hair. James hit Sirius' hand away and bit at the air.

"Everyone can touch James' hair?" Lily asked. She reached a hand out. James clenched his body to prepare to not snap at her. Lily got two inches from his hair before she grinned at him and lowered his hand. "I learned that lesson when I saw Remus make that mistake in fourth year," she quietly said. James smiled thankfully at her. "As a rule, don't touch people's hair unless asked to," Lily knowingly announced.

"You can touch my hair," Remus said.

"Same. In fact, I love it when people touch my hair," Mary stated. Peter looked fondly at her hair but kept his hands in his pockets. Remus ran a hand through his hair and noticed no one seemed to care.

"Really? No one wants to get in on this?" he asked. There were several chuckles before four hands reached up to his neck. He bend down and their hands touched his head.

"Soft!" Mary said.

"It really is," Lily replied. Remus stood up to his full length and grinned.

"Do you condition that?" Sirius asked. Remus scoffed.

"Please, this is all natural," he stressed the end of natural.

"No. It's so thick though," Mary said. Remus nodded with a smile.

"Even I condition," Sirius said. James chuckled at the pair of them. "What? You don't condition?" he asked. James' mouth dropped open.

"You think this'll get better will conditioner?" He pointed to his head. Sirius looked at the mess that was his hair.

"No, but some gel always helps," he said. James rolled his eyes knowing that was a dig at his constant shuffling of his hair and the stealing of little wisps of gel from Remus.

"You should buy some, by the way," Remus added. James felt his cheeks brighten as Lily looked back at him confused. Remus smirked. "You didn't know he likes to steal my gel?" he asked Lily.

"I figured he used something, but I didn't know _you_ use gel," she replied. Remus frowned. He ran a hand through his hair making it flow in the direction of his part.

"I don't use anything," Peter said shaking his head one way then the other and making his shaggy hair flip.

"Obv-…" Lily stopped saying obviously mid word and left her mouth hanging open. She flicked her eyes back to James. He didn't seem to notice her slip, but the moment she dared to look at him he smiled. She blushed thinking he was scolding her. He raised his eyebrows but she turned away from him.

"Peter, is your hair soft?" Mary asked. Peter bowed his head just slightly and she ran a hand through it. Mary furrowed her brow. "Do you want it soft?" she asked a little wary. Peter wrinkled his nose in thought.

"Should I?" he asked Mary's opinion. Mary thought for a beat.

"I guess no one really asks to touch your hair. But if your girlfriend wants to run her hands through it, yes." Mary smiled at him. Peter made a note quietly to himself.

"When are we going to Madam Rosemary's Hair Shop?" Peter asked. Sirius and James sniggered a little at the question.

"I have to get shampoo, so we'll go there after Potage's Caldron Shop," Mary suggested.

"I thought we were going to the broom shop," James pipped.

"I thought we were going to get a new cauldron," Lily said.

"No. I said _after_ Potage's. I guess we can go to the broom shop before Madam Rosemary's," Mary said. James smiled at the thought of his choice being prioritized.

"When are we going to see Marlene?" Sirius whined.

"Not now," Lily and James answered in unison. They shared a look of shock with each other before quickly looking away in embarrassment. Sirius sniggered and forgot about his wants for the moment.

"You know only happy couples do that," he teased.

"Oh, well then congratulations on your relationship with James for five whole years," Lily sang shaking Sirius' hand. Sirius looked dumbfounded. He looked to a chuckling James then grumbled.

"Ha ha ha," Sirius snapped at her. "That was very funny. I need a new cauldron if I'm going to become an Auror." He released her hand and marched off to Potage's. Mary and Peter quickly followed.

"I thought it was funny," Remus said. Lily smiled. James nodded in agreement.

"It was pretty funny, Evans," Remus said. Lily smiled again.

"Thank you, Potter, Remus." She nodded at each of them.

…


	12. Chapter 12

…

Cauldrons, Ice Cream, and Hair

…

They walked to Potage's and were immediately greeted the minute they opened the door with Peter squealing in a headlock from Sirius. James and Remus walked past without a second look. Lily gave them a narrow eyed stare. Sirius smiled and gave her a curt nod. Peter waved before trying to get Sirius' arms off him. The amount of cauldrons in the small shop was massive. The gold and silver ones were on display in the window, but the farther back you went the cheaper they got. Mary headed straight to the back. James looked at a few scales closer to the front.

"Is this the year you finally get gold scales?" Lily teased. James wrinkled his nose and looked a few stands back.

"No. This is the year I get _good_ scales. My Mum always buys scales that break within a year. It's not like I use them a ton." He huffed.

"Slughorn suggested we get better scales for sixth year. Said we'll be using them more." Lily ran her fingers along a nice set. James hummed and picked up a different set. He shrugged. "You still want to be an Auror, right?" Lily asked. James looked up.

"I think. I don't know. I want the option open. I got the O.W.L.s to be one. Have you?" He scratched his nose. Lily's eyebrows lifted.

"I've got to O.W.L.s Of course I have the O.W.L.s, Potter. Are you questioning my wits?" Lily placed her hands on her hips. James took a step back.

"No. No. I was just asking if you could be an Auror. Do you want to be one? I never asked. I guess I should have asked." James watched her hand finger her wand and fingered his own for defense. Lily noticed his fearful face and relaxed. She sighed and pushed her hair back.

"I guess I could be one. I always thought about being a healer. But." Lily sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. James raised his eyebrows wondering what she wanted to do with her life. "With the war. I think I'd like to fight." Lily nodded with a firm expression. Her eyes came back to James' face then she shrugged making her decision unknown still.

"Well I want to fight. After the war, I'll take up a broom shop or something. I never liked the idea of the Ministry. My father and mother worked for them for too long. They talk about it all the time. I think I'd rather open my own shop. Live above it. Make it nice." Lily tilted her head.

"You want to live in London?" she asked. James shrugged.

"Maybe. Well. No." He looked to the floor. "Honestly I always figured I'd marry and have a house with a garden."

"They have those in London." James wrinkled his face in thought. "I always imagined growing roses and lavender in my garden. I wouldn't mind if it was big or small, as long as I had one." James imagined a small garden in a London home.

"What do you think of a back deck?" he asked. Lily's face popped. James smiled.

"It'd have to have a swing on it. Swings are the best." James hummed.

"Wherever you two live, you have to have a second room just for me," Sirius said. Lily jumped away from James. "Relax, Evans. I didn't mean together." Sirius rolled his eyes. "I mean, just keep an extra room for guests, you know." He smiled. He turned his back to Lily and mouthed, "I meant together, you prat," to James' expressionless face.

They left Potage's Caldron Shop with three caldrons and two sets of scales. Then headed to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. When they got there, they ran into Lily and James' parents. Lily's parents immediately stood and walked over. Fleamont and Euphemia waved and stayed put waiting for James to come visit them.

"Lily, the Potters are so nice," Liz raved. Lily smiled. "They took us to their vault to get money and-."

"There's a rollercoaster in the bank, Lily," Joe said excitedly. Lily laughed and looked to James for conformation.

"You want to go see my vault," he asked. Lily looked wary at the idea of catching a glimpse of his money. James shrugged. "Your parents have seen more of Gringotts than you," he teasingly whispered in her ear before he squeezed past Liz and Joe to get to his parents.

"You should go see it," Liz urged. "It's a lot of fun." She smiled widely. "We also went into another store that sold. What did it sell, Joe?" She turned to her husband.

"It sold healing potions. They were steaming up in your face. Some of them smelled gross but others smelled wonderful." Joe's face was lit with amusement. "Fleamont took me to a Quid-ditch shop. Am I saying that right? You talk about it, I know, but I've never said it before."

"You're saying it right." Lily nodded encouragingly.

"Well we went there and this little model showed how the game was played. Do you really play that game? It's so violent." Liz looked shocked at the thought.

"I don't play. Potter plays. There are house teams and matches. Potter is the captain of our house team." Joe widened his eyes.

"What position does he play? Is he the one that hits those awful balls that are crazy? Or is he the one in front of the goals?"

"No. He's a chaser. He's one of three team members that try and make goals on the keeper with the quaffle, the main ball. The beaters are the ones that beat the crazy balls which are called bludgers. The keeper is the one in front of the three goals. The seeker is the one that's often not in the thick of it. They seek the snitch, which ends the game and provides 150 points to the team that catches it." Lily waved her hands around while she explained the game. Her father nodded along and was in awe. Her mother, however, was chuckling at her daughter.

"You have to see this game in action, Liz. It's manic." Joe nudged Lily.

Meanwhile, "James, the Evans are nice people. I see why you like Lily," Fleamont said. James flushed a light shade of pink. "Don't be ashamed of your crush, James, my boy. It's perfectly normal to fancy a girl." James nodded and scratched the back of his head. He was happy Lily was distracted by her parents and the rest of their little group was buying ice cream.

"Oh, so you've admitted it," Euphemia said. James cleared his throat, shot a look back at Lily, and then nodded his head. "Good. Because I find the girl wonderful, from what little I've seen of her. You should bring her over Christmas Break this year, along with Sirius. We'll be able to get to know her more. She's seems nice. From what Sirius has said she's the kindest person at Hogwarts." James nodded in agreement ignoring the fact that his mother and Sirius talked about Lily and James behind James' back.

"She is a beautiful girl, James. Nice tastes," Fleamont said nodding in Lily's direction.

"It's not just that," James defended. Fleamont looked taken back.

"I never said that. I'm just. She's beautiful." Fleamont relaxed and bowed his head slightly. James cleared his throat and nodded.

"She doesn't like me though. I think she sort of hates me. Or part of me. At least that's the impression I and everyone else gets." He lowered his head.

"What does she hate about you?" Euphemia asked. James' cheeks heated again in embarrassment.

"Well. I would hex kids and she hates that. I'm not doing it anymore, but. She hasn't noticed yet." Euphemia and Fleamont frowned at this knowledge. "I wasn't doing it for nothing. They were bad people," James defended but he cringed at his own words. "It doesn't matter now. I've stopped." He sighed defeated.

"Good," Euphemia summed up. Fleamont nodded in agreement. "Go sit with your friends. The Evans are coming back." Euphemia waved for James to join Lily at the counter.

"What'd you talk about?" James asked as he stood behind Lily. Lily jumped a little and turned around.

"I was explaining Quidditch. They think I should visit the vaults, but I had to explain we have too big of a group." Lily waved the subject away. James hummed not quite agreeing with her. He shoved his hands in his pockets.

After ice cream, they went to Flourish and Blotts again because Remus wanted to talk with the new Head Boy who also happened to be Frank Longbottom. Frank had his arm wrapped around Alice's waist. They were walking out of a dark corner. James and Sirius slyly smirked at the pair of them. Remus waved and ignored Alice's blushing face. Mary and Lily whispered something about Alice's hair before they snickered. Alice quickly left Frank's side to admonish them.

"It's just a bit of snogging you first years," she teased the pair of them.

"It's not that," Lily sniggered. Alice frowned. Lily motioned to Alice's rumpled hair. Alice quickly ran her hands through it. "Let Mary plait it." Lily shoved Mary forward and covered her mouth with her hand. Mary quickly got to work.

"We've already been here," Sirius complained. James hung his head hearing the telltale signs of another Sirius whining parade. James groaned.

"Not again, Sirius," Lily grumbled.

"I just want to see Marlene," Sirius whined. He threw his head back like a toddler.

"Alice," Lily started.

"Sirius, stop complaining. It'll only take, when are we meeting Dorcas and Marlene?" Alice asked. Lily looked to Mary, who looked to James. James tapped his head and closed his eyes thinking back to the plan he had gone over in his mind that morning.

"Noon." He slapped his forehead like it was the most obvious thing. They all nodded with him.

"See and it's like eleven ten now. That's-."

"Fifty minutes away!" Sirius exclaimed. He groaned and ran his hands over his face. Lily snatched a book off the shelf and handed it to him.

"Read this." Sirius slapped the book away out of Lily's hand.

"Hey!" Lily shouted. "Pick that up." She pointed to the book. Sirius glared at her. "Stop acting like a two year old and pick the damn book up, you prat."

Remus asked a few questions from Frank, Alice had her hair plaited, and Lily and Sirius went back and forth over who would pick the book up, before Peter picked it up in irritation. James told him not to, but he went against his friend's suggestion and did it anyways. Sirius and Lily both roared at Peter, but Frank and Remus were ready to leave so they left. Sirius walked ahead with Peter telling him he should have let Lily pick the damned thing up. Lily hung back with Mary and Alice.

"Why does he have to be that way?" Lily grumbled.

"He's Sirius Black. He's going to be a child," Alice answered. Lily sighed but agreed with her. Frank was first to go into the broom shop but James shoved Sirius, Peter, and Remus out of the way to be second in. Like a kid in a candy shop James looked at all the brooms in awe.

"Talk about child," Lily whispered. Alice and Mary sniggered.

"Why do girls do that?" Peter asked Remus. Remus looked at him confused. Peter pointed to Lily whispered with giggling Mary and Alice. Remus sighed.

"That's just what they do." Remus patted Peter on the back and went into the store after Sirius. Peter scampered after them.

"Are they talking about me?" he wondered. Remus shook his head and then cringed.

"No. Probably not. They usually do that about people they're annoyed with or they fancy." Peter looked to Mary.

"Do you think Mary fancies me?" Peter asked. Remus frowned then licked his lips. He didn't want to ignore Peter but he didn't want to hurt his feelings.

"Maybe one day?" Remus suggested with a high voice. Peter looked saddened but uplifted at the same time somehow.

"Mary," Peter called out. Mary's head whipped in his direction. Remus felt uneasy at Peter's sudden need to talk to Mary. "You have to get shampoo, right?" he asked. Mary nodded. "Want to go now while they're looking at brooms?"

"Well we have to wait for James, because he needs hair gel." Mary cringed. Lily walked over to the display case her father talked about and watched them play.

"Of well this isn't a good showcase of how Quidditch is played," she complained. "My Dad probably thinks it's all gory." Alice frowned.

"What?"

"Potter's Dad brought my Dad here and he saw this case. He probably thinks all chasers get hit in the head all the time look." Lily pointed to the little beaters hitting chasers in the heads with bludgers every two seconds, aimed perfectly. Alice poked one of the miniature bludgers and moved it to hit a beater. She chuckled.

"These beaters have too good of aim," Alice murmured as a beater knocked a keeper off his broom and onto the ground. Lily hummed in agreement. James talked rapidly with the guy behind the counter until he said something that set the guy off.

"Leave!" The man pointed to the door. James looked over at Frank with fire in his eyes, but Frank looked just as livid as James. "I said leave. Take your friends you!" The man motioned toward the door. Frank carefully grabbed Alice's hand and ushered her out the door whispering to her. Mary, Peter, Remus, and Sirius all followed looking back at the man in wonder. Lily waited for James to finish glaring at the man, but he wouldn't move from his spot.

"Potter," she called. James clenched his hands into fists. The man had turned his back the moment Frank and Alice left. Lily walked over to James. "Potter, come on let's go." James clenched his jaw and took a step closer to the counter. Lily grabbed his wrist. "James," she lowly said. James' ear twitched and he turned to look at her fire steaming in his eyes. "Let's go," Lily quietly said nodding to the door.

"He," James began. Lily shook her head once before tugging him after her. They got out of the shop and James ripped his hand away from hers. "He had the bollocks to ask for our blood status! When we asked why, he said he wouldn't sell to to…" James ran a hand through his hair angrily. "That awful word," he grumbled. Lily noticed everyone else was down the block heading toward Rose Lee Tea Bag.

"It's okay, James. It happens. People have their own opinions-."

"They shouldn't have those opinions!" James roared. Lily watched him without moving. James' eyes swiftly moved back and forth taking turns between her two green ones. He seemed to calm slightly. "You don't deserve that," he strictly said. Lily raised her eyebrows. James blinked then looked down the street biting his lip. He shifted his feet and his head bowed to the ground.

"Thank you," Lily tightly said. She reached out to grab his wrist again but thought better and instead nudged his shoulder with hers. James looked up at her shocked. Lily smiled at him. A smile landed on his lips. Lily walked ahead and shot back a smirk over her shoulder. She noticed he sauntered after her.

"What are you smiling about?" Mary asked when Lily pushed between her and Peter.

"I just completed a feat that I thought impossible," Lily sang. Mary raised a single eyebrow.

"What feat was that?" Mary asked. "Was it kiss James?" Mary skipped a little at the thought. Lily flicked her hair.

"No," she dragged. "I just talked him out of hexing someone. I thought that would never happen." Mary frowned. Lily frowned back. "What?"

"Get to know him and that's rather normal," Mary grumbled. Lily's eyes popped open.

"Since when have you been buddies with Potter?" Lily accused. Mary shot a look at her as if she should know. Lily was blanking and kept her accusing look. Mary stopped walking.

"After the ocelot incident in third year, he checked on me every day and we became friends." Mary glared at Lily. "We had fights for months over my friendship with him? Do you not remember this? You wouldn't talk to me for three weeks." Lily's confused face relaxed. She looked down.

"I. I've tried hard to forget that, sorry, Mary. Yeah. I guess you are friends." Lily tucked her hair behind her ear and looked grimly to the ground.

"It's fine," Mary quickly said. Lily swallowed a gulp. Mary looked up right at that moment and grabbed hold of Lily's hand. "We have to stop at Hair, Beauty, and More." She turned around looking for Peter. "Peter, Hair, Beauty, and More." Peter skipped over to them before realizing what he was doing and walking more in a James or Sirius like swagger.

"Where you going, Wormtail?" James asked.

"To get conditioner!" he called over his shoulder. "Want to get hair gel?" James wrinkled his nose.

"Hair gel?" Remus whipped his head backward. He saw James' face and took two long strides before he was dragging James into the store. Sirius looked to Frank and Alice.

"Need any hair products?" Frank asked. Sirius ran his hands through his hair before he quickly ducked into the shop after Lily, Peter, and Mary. Frank turned to Alice and they both laughed before following the group.

Inside the shop, Remus was coaching James in picking the right hair gel, Mary was off in the shampoo section, Peter was asking Lily about types of conditioners, and Sirius was browsing hair brushes. Frank let one foot step in front of one of Alice's and nudged her hip. She covered his foot with hers and they started messing around walking crookedly around the store.

"Need any help?" a woman asked. Lily had just picked up a conditioner she thought would be good for Peter, so she shook her head. Mary was already paying at the counter, Sirius took one look at the elderly woman and turned back around, but Remus was desperate.

"Yes, please," he said. The woman quickly walked over. "He steals my hair gel all the time. But he won't buy his own." James crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well that is a predicament." The woman browsed the options before asking Remus what he used. She picked it up and handed it to James. James put it straight back. The woman turned to Remus. "Have you tried taking his money and buying it yourself?"

"He's not getting my money," James grumbled. Remus scoffed at him before trying to lift James' galleon pouch out of his pocket. James stepped away and held onto Remus' shoulder.

"Remus," Lily called noticing the issue. Remus turned to her. James let him go and hovered a hand around his pocket. "What does Potter do with the hair gel once he gets it?" she asked.

"He runs it through his hair to make it stand up more," Remus replied. Lily nodded.

"Potter, what's so wrong with having your own hair gel?" she questioned. James tucked his chin closer to his chest.

"I don't want my hair to stand up anymore," he grumbled. Lily frowned.

"But it looks good that way," she said. She cringed slightly. She didn't love it that way, but it was better than what James had attempted to do at the end of the school year. James looked up at her with an open mouth. He narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"But you said-."

"Doesn't matter what's she's said," Alice cut in. James's head popped over to Alice who gave Lily a smile. "Your hair looks good up. When it's not it looks frumpy, like it wants to be up."

"What wants to be up?" James asked. He frowned deeply.

"Your hair," Lily stepped in. "When it's down your hair seems to want to be up."

"I think it's your cowlicks," Alice suggested. James frowned and tried to look up at his hair. "They just don't want to be down. So get some hair gel of your own."

"Get a different kind than Remus, so you can tell it apart," Lily added. James turned around.

"Which one smells good?" James asked. The woman shrugged. James started opening every one that read long lasting and smelling them. He stopped at one and turned to Remus. Remus sniffed it and nodded his head. He turned to Alice; Alice did the same. Then he turned to Lily. Lily frowned. James put it back.

"What? One no and it's no good?" she asked.

"Yep," James shot back. Lily crossed her arms over her chest. He tried again and all but Lily frowned. He took a step toward the counter, but Lily's hand on his chest stopped him.

"Get one we all agree on," she ordered. James sighed and went to work again. After two more tries, he got one.

"Didn't even care by then," Remus mumbled in James' ear. James sniggered. Lily was light on her feet and Alice was rubbing her nose. "Bumble Styling Wax. Catchy," he mumbled.

"It smelled good," Lily pipped.

"Bumble," James murmured.

…


	13. Chapter 13

…

Rosa Lee Tea Bag or Maybe Just a Pub

…

Walking down the street to Rose Lee Tea Bag was a nightmare. Peter wanted to be next to Mary, but Mary wanted to be between Lily and Alice. Alice wanted to walk next to Frank. Frank and Remus wanted to walk together. James wanted to be next to Lily and Sirius wanted to be next to James. With the streets so thin and crowded in Diagon Alley, they had to compromise. James walked with Sirius; Lily, Peter, and Mary walked together; Alice and Frank held hands while Remus chatted Frank up.

James flashed many looks back at the group he and Sirius were leading. "Potter, look where you're going," Lily ordered. James immediately turned around. Sirius leaned in to him.

"Whipped," he whispered. James grumbled and purposefully looked back at Lily.

"Potter," she groaned. "You're going to trip," she warned. James flashed a look in front of him before looking back to see the conversation Mary and Peter were having about their O.W.L.s.

"I'm not going to trip," James said right before he fell flat on his face. Sirius looked at him for a beat before he broke out into laughter. Lily rolled her eyes and stepped over him. Frank and Remus offered hands for him to take. James grumbled about Sirius tripping him and brushed off the dirt.

"Told ya," Lily sang over her shoulder. James glared at the back of her head and shuffled along behind Alice.

Rosa Lee Tea Bag was surprisingly empty for noon. They spotted Marlene and Dorcas quickly. They were sitting at a large table talking about something or another. Marlene noticed the group hovering around the front door first. She waved them over. Sirius shot across the restaurant and over to Marlene's side. He wrapped one arm around her, which she promptly threw off. She moved his other hand off her thigh and turned to greet the rest of the group.

"Hi, Marlene. How was your summer?" Lily asked sitting down on the other side of her. James quickly took the seat next to her. Mary filling in next to Sirius and Peter sitting across from her. Alice darted under Frank's arm and sat next to Dorcas immediately striking a conversation about their parents. Frank and Remus took the remaining seats.

They were quickly served tea and scones, by an annoyed elderly man in a suit-vest. They were asked several times to quiet down, but each time someone made a joke and that made everyone roar with laughter. Then the joke was said again because someone didn't hear it and the laughing continued until the older man came out.

"Leave!" They all fell silent. The man raised his hand and pointed to the door. "Out. We've asked you many times to keep it down, and you haven't. Now, please, leave." Peter was the first to stand, followed quickly by Mary and Lily. Then the rest of them were following without thought.

In the street, Sirius was the first to laugh. Then they were all holding their stomach with shit eating grins on their faces.

"We weren't that loud," James said when the laughter died down. There were some groans, one or two agrees, and the rest were flat out nos. Frank tilted his hands side to side.

"We were iffy," he said. James shrugged and ran a hand through his hair.

"Where to next?" Sirius asked.

"I'm still hungry," Mary said. Everyone agreed with her.

"I know a place. It's a pub," James said raising his hand so everyone could see. "We can be as loud as we want."

"We're not of age," Mary grumbled.

"Doesn't matter."

"I'm of age," Frank said. "I can be the person taking you. But usually you _eat_ at a pub and can order drinks, but you don't have to." Mary blushed a little and ducked her head. "Where's the pub, James?" James started walking off. Feet scampered after him. Eyes catching hold of his black spikes.

The pub was over crowded but they managed to grab two booths in the back corner. Marlene and Sirius nabbed one side and immediately started snogging. Frank and Alice took another booth along with Remus, Mary, and Peter. Lily got squished into the inside of the booth between James and the wall, with Dorcas almost hanging off the end of the bench.

They ordered drinks quickly, a mixture of gillywater, water, bubble juice, and butterbeer. Their waitress quickly left which prompted Lily to look over at Dorcas who seemed far more comfortable than Lily was feeling and James was looking.

"Dorcas, do you have any space?" Lily whined having one shoulder bumping against the wall with every slight breath.

"No, I don't. Maybe you should sit in James' lap. That way everyone would have room," she snapped back to her. Lily shot a glare at her.

"Shut up. I'm not sitting in Potter's lap." James shriveled under their talk.

"If you would just sit in his lap, I'd be able to have more than half my arse in the booth."

"I'm _not_ sitting on Potter's lap."

"I'm right here," James exclaimed. He lifted both his arms and laid them across the back of the booth. Lily tensed but realized with his shoulders up they had more room. Then Dorcas was nudging hips with James and James was closing the three inch gap between his left hip and Lily's right. With one finally nudge that bordered on a body slam, James and Lily with flush. Dorcas smiled.

"Now I'm in the booth," she declared. She picked up a menu from the center of the table and looked over it. Lily was frozen under James. James was equally still. All he could think about was that his hand was now on her shoulder and he was wrapped around her. He had managed to keep the arm over Dorcas on the ledge of the booth, but his arm was too long over Lily and his hand was squished downward so his fingertips brushed her upper arm. "What do you think I should get?" Dorcas asked not noticing neither of them had picked up a menu.

Marlene and Sirius came up for air. They looked over at her. "Do they have burgers?" Marlene asked. Dorcas nodded without looking up from the menu. "Get me one of those."

"Ditto," Sirius said before his lips latched onto Marlene's. Dorcas nodded then started chewing her nail.

Lily finally cleared her throat, picked up two menus, and threw one in James' direction. James coughed then picked it up with the arm that had been around Dorcas. Lily adjusted herself in her seat getting comfortable with James around her. James adjusted his glasses. After a few minutes of looking over their menus they noticed Remus get up and ask for a chair from a party that wasn't using it.

"Dorcas," Lily called. Dorcas looked up. "Want to grab that extra chair?" Lily pointed to a different empty chair of another party. Dorcas looked over and got up but the second her hand toughed the chair a woman sat down in it giving Dorcas a nasty look. Dorcas backed away and sat back down next to James giving him an extra slam for more space.

"Dorcas," James grunted. His body slammed into Lily with a force Lily wasn't expecting. She then realized he had been stopping the slams from hitting her.

"Dorcas, we have little to no space. You can't have as much room as you want," Lily snapped. Dorcas looked over at them.

"What? You look perfectly fine on space." She took an extra-long look at them. "In fact, if James scooted an inch further you'd be cozy." She flashed an evil grin at them. Lily narrowed her eyes. James sighed and pointed at something on the menu.

"You think the pie would be good here?" he asked.

"I don't know. I'm just getting fish and chips." Lily tossed her menu back into the center of the table. She rested her elbows on the table leaning forward away from James. James lifted his arm from the back of the booth and stretched both hands out in front of him.

"Do you think they'll come up for air?" he asked nodding at Marlene and Sirius.

"Considering how long he whined about wanting Marlene, not any time soon," Lily replied. Dorcas snorted and put her menu back.

"So Marlene wasn't the only one whining about when you guys would get there?" she asked. Lily and James shook their heads with wide eyes.

"Sirius almost threw a fit in Flourish and Blotts." Lily raised her eyebrows.

"That was the second time in Flourish and Blotts. The first time he just annoyed us with questions about Marlene. But the weird thing was." James raised a finger. "He flirted with a girl in Madam Primpernelle's Beautifying Potions." Suddenly Marlene was pulling away from Sirius. She raised a hand, slapped his face then pulled him back into a kiss.

Sirius's hand came out from beneath the table and reached for James. James slapped his hand away, but Sirius quickly grabbed James' hand and pulled it back toward him. James laughed and tried to get out of the hold. Then he was half on the table, half standing, and Sirius let go of James' hand before Sirius punched James in the neck. James made a sound of pain between a grunt and a cough then sunk back into his seat. He rubbed his neck.

"Merlin," he croaked. Dorcas removed his hand from his neck and looked at it.

"Nasty bruise," she said. She clicked her tongue. "Shouldn't rat on your friends, mate." James rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. Like he did that when he told Zora in fourth year that I had been writing um…" He cleared his throat. "Someone else name on my parchment." He glared at Sirius. Sirius didn't move. "Or when he told Caitlyn in fifth year that I was checking out girls in at Gryffindor parties when she was in her dorm. _Or_ when I was dating Julie in fourth year and he told her I didn't really like her that much." Sirius finally responded by giving James the finger. Dorcas and Lily muffled their laughter with their hands.

James grabbed Sirius' finger and reached across the table to try and eat it. Dorcas and Lily erupted in giggles. Sirius pulled away from Marlene when he felt James' wet mouth on his finger. He yelped, wrenched his hand away, and flattened his body against the booth.

"Could you not leave us in peace?" Marlene snapped. Lily and Dorcas laughed when all James did was run a hand through his hair and grin innocently. Marlene flicked his nose. He sat back down rubbing the offended nose.

Finally a waitress came, gave them their drinks, and they ordered. The waitress shot one look at the happy couple before she walked over to the other table. James returned his arms around Lily and Dorcas. Lily found herself leaning slightly against him to relieve the pressure from her other shoulder. James clenched his muscles in his torso. Lily felt a ripple and turned to James. Dorcas did the same having already been leaning on James so she wasn't in the way of the waiters.

"Was that you flexing?" Dorcas exclaimed. A light pink blush crept along James' neck.

"Um." He looked around the table.

"Wait. Give me your bicep." Dorcas held a hand out. James slowly put his arm in her hand. "Flex." James sputtered but flexed his arm. "Merlin, sakes." Dorcas' eyes widened. "Lily, you've got to feel these muscles." Lily raised her brow. "No. Seriously." Dorcas handed Lily James' arm.

"I'm not an object," James weakly whined. Lily took his arm and gave him one look. He shut his mouth and flex his arm. Lily was impressed but she didn't blink.

"Not surprised," she said releasing his arm. James looked crestfallen. Dorcas frowned. "He is captain of the Quidditch team, Dorcas." Dorcas narrowed her eyes. But Lily turned her head away looking at a stain on the booth behind Sirius' hair. A smile graced her lips. James was really buff, she thought to herself.

"Okay. So…" James tapped his fingers against the bar.

"What do you do to get that lean muscle?" Dorcas asked. "I mean, I guess it's lean. It's lean right? You can't look as thin as you and have much muscle mass." James looked offended. "You have muscles, they're just not bulky." Dorcas narrowed her face at her wording. James tilted his head but seemed okay with her statement.

"I'd have to see you shirtless to say if you were _too_ muscly," Lily boldly said. James' eyes popped out of his head. Lily gave him a confused look. "What? It's not like I'm asking you to take your shirt off in public, or ever really. I'm just saying to get a real look, I'd have to see you shirtless." She shrugged and messed with her glass of water.

"I bet if you give him one galleon he'll take his shirt off for you. Oh wait, probably just ask," Dorcas teased. Lily rolled her eyes; the tips of James' ears turned red.

Split up into two groups they were far less rowdy. But that may have had something to do with Frank and Alice cuddling and Sirius and Marlene snogging. Either way their laughter was not as big, not to say there weren't plenty of jokes. Lily found herself liking the back and forth of Dorcas and James.

"I knew you were an idiot since we were five," Dorcas slung over to James. James chuckled and shook his head.

"Really? Cause I remember you following me around like a puppy until we were eight. And after that you still relied on me to feed you information about _everything_ in the world." Dorcas rolled her eyes at this.

"Yeah right. You went on about monsters under your bed and I swear Sirius told me in second year, you slept in his bed because you said your bed had monsters under it." Lily laughed loudly at this. "What are you laughing at?" Dorcas asked raising her eyebrows. "I remember you jumping into Mary's bed once a week because you swore ghosts were going to take you away."

"Hey!" Lily shouted. Dorcas smirked. James looked her way guiltily.

"Really, Evans?" he asked. "Ghosts? They're the friendliest things."

"Not Peeves," Lily defended. James and Dorcas shared a look before they were laughing.

"Peeves?" Dorcas asked.

"Evans, you give him anything and he's putty in your hands."

"Especially when you act like he's stealing it and it's very valuable," Dorcas started.

"Or if it's easily breakable, dangerous, loud, obnoxious, or just really anything. I once gave him a handful of dirt and asked him to-."

"What the hell, Potter? You told him to dump it over me!" Lily slammed her fist onto the table. James smirked; Dorcas belly laughed.

"No, I told him to dump it on _someone_. And anyway this was in-."

"Fourth year, so you should have known better." Lily glared heavily at him. James turned his body fully toward Lily.

"If you remember correctly," he stressed, "I was the one to use a cleaning spell on you. I also admonished Peeves."

"Yes, but you were still childish enough to tell him to dump a pile of dirt on an innocent. Why? What's so funny about that?" Lily sunk her back into the wall and crossed her arms over her chest effectively putting distance between her and James. James frowned and pulled his arm away from where her back had once been.

"I was an idiot back then. I thought I was funny because…" James trailed off and shrugged cringing.

"Because you have a horrid since of humor?"

"No. I have a good sense of humor. You just don't happen to notice it. And that would have been funny, Evans."

"I've never seen the appeal in hurting someone as humor. It wasn't funny." Lily glared at him. He glared back.

Dorcas cleared her throat. "It would have been funny if it was for a Slytherin or a bragging Ravenclaw," she weighed in. Lily flashed her eyes over the forgotten friend. Dorcas tilted her head and raised her brow. "It would have been. You would have hidden a laugh. James would have high fived Peter and Sirius. Remus would have chuckled. It would have been okay if it had been anyone but you."

"No," Lily refused to believe that.

"Yes," Dorcas stressed. "You just don't want to admit that you find the Marauder's pranks funny. Everyone does, except the person being pranked." Dorcas turned to her glass. "And for Merlin's sake, invite me into the conversation." She rolled her eyes and took a swig of her gillywater. Lily flushed as James chuckled and moved so his back against the booth again.

"What can I say," he said, "she sucks me in." Lily ducked her head and resettled against James. Marlene and Sirius parted and gave each other looks that obviously mean they could go no farther in public. So they settled with a few inches separating them.

"What's the conversation?" Sirius asked with a raspy voice. He cleared his throat and looked from each person going down the line.

"Um…" Lily fingered her glass.

"We're talking about pranks and how Evans actually enjoys them," James finally answered. Sirius smirked and nodded. Marlene giggled.

"Remember that one time you made all door handles honk loudly when someone touched them," Marlene laughed. Sirius and James' eyes glassed over. They both smiled evilly.

"Or that time you managed to flip all the glasses on the Slytherin table over and when they lifted them water came out," Dorcas started to laugh hard. "Because," she gasped, "they were all full." She wiped a tear away from the corner of her eye.

"Some were filled with pumpkin juice," Sirius explained.

"Orange juice, and a lot of gurdyroot infusion." Everyone's noses wrinkled at the thought.

"What about the time you filled glasses of water and put them out along every floor. And the teachers had to spend all morning clearing them before anyone could walk anywhere," Marlene pipped.

"Okay. I have one," Lily said holding up a hand to make everyone be quiet. "The time Potter and Sirius pretended to be a couple for three weeks. They held hands, went on like seven dates, and were caught by basically everyone in very compromising positions." James and Sirius raised their eyebrows.

"How do you know that wasn't real, Evans?" James asked accusingly. Lily raised a single eyebrow and leaned in.

"Because you were never actually kissing. And every time you." She poked James in the chest. "Leaned in to fake kiss him, or hug him romantically, you cringed just the tiniest bit." Her fingers inched together. James flashed a quick look at Sirius.

"But Sirius didn't?" James questioned. Lily flicked her hair and shook her head.

"Not once. He is a good actor. You however." She pursed her lips. Sirius grinned proudly. Dorcas sniggered at James' pout. Lily smirked over her shoulder at him. His lips stayed pouted at her. Her grin got bigger until she was laughing lightly. "Come on, Potter." She nudged shoulders with him. "Learn to take a joke."

"I can take a joke," he grumbled.

"Apparently not, otherwise you'd be smiling with the rest of us." Lily pointed to the grinning faces of everyone else. James put on an over exaggerated smile.

Their food was good; their conversation better. After lunch everyone had to depart. Lily and James found their parents telling stories in the Leaky Caldron. They walked in just in time to hear, "He would go around holding onto it like a toy." That caused all their parents to chuckle.

"Holding what?" James asked Lily quietly. Lily shrugged.

"Lily asked when she'd get boobs around that age," Liz confused. Lily turned bright red. James made a face of disgust and shock.

"You're so lucky you had girls," Euphemia said. "I love James dearly but I just could not understand why he wouldn't let go of his penis for a year when he was five." James' face flushed just a red as Lily's.

"Mum!" he shouted lowly. Euphemia turned to him laughing.

"Oh, dear, it was perfectly normal. Don't be worried." James groaned and grabbed his mother by the arm dragging her toward the floo powder system. Fleamont bid farewell to the Evans family before following quickly.

"You were talking about me asking about boobs?" Lily asked in an aggravated voice. Liz shrugged and stood grabbing hold of purse. Lily pulled out her change purse just to notice the pile of galleons on the table left by the Potters. "Did they pay?" she asked.

"They insisted on paying, trust us we tried. We even exchanged our money for the magical kind at Gringotts when we went with them. But they wouldn't let us pay," Liz confessed. Lily frowned deeply.

"I gave Fleamont a few pounds when we went shopping. I got it covered," Joe said proudly. He wrapped around arm around Lily and an arm around Liz. "Let's go find Petunia."

…


	14. Chapter 14

…

Hogwarts Express

…

Lily glided through the wall between the 9 and 10 platforms into 9 ¾. Her parents had bid her farewell on the Muggle side after many promises to write as often as she could. She put her foot down right before she ran into a first year.

"Oi, watch it," the first year's father said. Lily smiled grimly and walked past. She handed her trunk and owl away before searching the platform for any signs of friends. She had seen them just three days ago, but she was eager to have the school year started and it started when they boarded the train.

"Lily!" she heard. Her head turned swiftly before she was rammed by no other than Dorcas Meadows. Dorcas wrapped Lily in a quick hug before pulling away a split second later.

"Dorcas," Lily said laughing. "What's go you so open today?" she asked. Dorcas looked at her innocently. Lily narrowed her eyes. Dorcas sighed and threw her head back.

"My brother called me unfeeling this morning." She groaned. "I thought you wouldn't notice." Lily laughed.

"You never hug anyone, not even Alice."

"That's not true! I give hugs when they're needed."

"Desperately needed," a voice behind Dorcas said. Dorcas turned around and wrapped her arms around Marlene. Marlene's eyes widened and she held her hands out to the side not quite knowing what to do. Dorcas pulled back and dropped her hands after a moment.

"It's not a big deal, Dorcas," Lily said. Dorcas quirked her mouth to the side and furrowed her brow in disbelief. "You're not that great a hugger anyways." Dorcas gasped.

"Yay!" Marlene clapped her hands together. "We have Snarky Lily today. She's in a good mood."

"Yay?" Dorcas asked. "Snarky Lily is the good mood Lily? I thought Kind Lily was the good mood Lily." Marlene shook her head.

"No," Alice said coming up behind Lily. "Snarky Lily is a good mood Lily. Kind Lily are all Lilys, but when she's extra kind that's Guilty Lily. Sassy and Flirty Lily is the best mood Lily. The worst mood Lily is the Hexing-Yelling Lily."

"And the _absolute_ worst Lily is Silent-Lily," Mary added coming up behind Dorcas. Dorcas nodded her head in understanding.

"Right. Forgot."

"Is this what you talk about when I fall asleep?" Lily asked.

"That and who's your next boyfriend going to be," Marlene sniggered. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Who's it going to be?" she asked after a moment's pause.

"I bet two more until James," Marlene said proudly.

"I bet one," Mary said. Lily's eyes popped out of her head.

"I bet no James because you'll be to upset with everyone to ever go to him. But I'm thinking I did not bet right," confessed Dorcas.

"I bet next is James." Alice smirked.

"What the hell, Alice?" Lily shouted. "I thought you told me I was supposed to be friends with him before I even thought of anything more. I was supposed to give him a chance as a human being." Alice nodded eagerly.

"You are. We just all have our own thoughts. Do you want to bet? You have to give you money to Frank if you bet. He refused to bet. Have you seen him, by the way?" She looked around the platform.

"No. He's probably on the train already. In the Heads compartment," Lily said. Alice sighed and walked onto the train.

"You want to share a compartment or separate ones?" Alice asked Mary, Marlene, and Lily hanging off the train.

"Get the biggest one you can find!" James shouting running down the platform with Sirius on his tale.

"No. We're not sharing with you," Marlene snapped. She placed a hand on Sirius' chest effectively stopping him from kissing her.

"Get your own compartment," Dorcas said. Sirius turned into a puppy. Lily chuckled lowly at the thought of his animagus being a puppy instead of a huge black dog.

"Fine," Sirius snapped. He turned on his heel and walked down to the next train door. He boarded. James saluted the girls before following his best mate. The Marauders snatched the compartment next across from the girls. They left their door open and tried their hardest to open the girls door, but they had it locked talking about something or another leaned in together in a tight circle.

"What are they talking about?" Sirius whined.

"Don't know. But Alice seems to be talking the most. Mary almost as much. Dorcas seems to be adding some opinion," Remus said casually from his position where he could see straight into their compartment.

"What about Lily?" James asked. "Or… Marlene?"

"Lily's adding some things here and there. Marlene… not so much."

"You think they're talking about us?" Peter asked.

"No," Remus frowned. "The way they're leaning in and talking slowly, no nodding." He furrowed his brow thinking. "Oh Merlin," he gasped.

"What?" Peter asked.

"What is it?" James jumped up and looked into the compartment window.

"They're talking about sex!" Remus exclaimed. James looked taken back.

"No," he said. "No way."

"Yes, way. Alice just mocked a face of pure pleasure. Then they all laughed and she said something that made them all say something of an apology for laughing."

"That's why they didn't want me?" Sirius asked. "I'm the best at talking about sex." He stood up and walked to the girls' door. He pounded on it. "I can talk about this subject very well, I'll have you know." They all sniggered then Lily came out. "Finally, you let me in. I can talk about sex for hours. If you just let me in." Lily blocked the door then shut it. Alice flicked her wand and the lock sounded.

"Were you really talking about sex?" James asked. Lily bent her brow in thought. Then her eyes twinkled.

"What's it to you?" she pipped. "Remus, it's time to go to the Prefect's meeting." Remus jumped up and they walked down the carriage. James grabbed Sirius and Peter by the shirt collars after a few minutes. He summoned their trunks to follow and he dragged them toward the Prefect's carriage. He opened a compartment just in front of the Prefect's carriage and ordered a group of third years out.

"This is our compartment," one of them shouted.

"Ours is down the hall, doors open. It's bigger, take it," James snapped. They grumbled and walked down the corridor. James leaned his ear against the wall and tried his hardest to listen in.

"Didn't know you wanted to be a Prefect, Prongsie," Sirius teased.

"What?" James asked looking back for a second before pressing his ear against the compartment.

"Well you're trying so hard to listen in, I'd just assume you wanted to be in there." Sirius shrugged.

"Why don't you just take your invisibility cloak in there," Peter suggested. James popped off the bench and dug in his trunk. "You don't have it in your pocket?" Peter asked. James rolled his eyes.

"I packed it this morning, didn't think I'd need it till we got to school." He pulled his cloak out and put it on before the door seemed to open on its own. Then he went into the corridor for about five minutes before he appeared out of thin air on the seat. Peter and Sirius jumped.

"What?" Peter asked.

"I forgot the door can't open on its own," James said sadly. Sirius barked out laughter.

After an hour, the prefects and new Heads left the compartment. Lily tugged on Remus' arm before he could join the rest of them. Remus turned back at her and smiled brightly.

"What was Sirius going on about?" Lily asked quietly. Remus laughed loudly. Lily looked around the empty compartment to make sure no one would be able to hear in case it got private.

"I told him you girls were talking about sex. He really wanted to join the conversation." A small smile graced Lily's lips.

"We were talking about sex." Remus' eyes about popped out of his head. Lily motioned for him to join her on the walk out of the compartment. They were two steps out of the door when a head popped out of the nearest compartment.

"Heyo," James said. Lily grimaced. Remus looked around the carriage.

"Did we suddenly apparate without thought?" he asked sarcastically. "I could have sworn our compartment was two carriages down." He looked around comically. James grumbled. Lily laughed. Remus stopped looking around and chuckled at his own joke.

"Hey, Silly-Lily," Sirius called leaning his body against the doorframe. James stepped out into the carriage. Remus walked into their compartment and sat down next to Peter. "How was the rest of your summer? Go on anymore dates, you know besides us three?" Sirius teased and pointed to him, James, and Remus. Lily rolled her eyes.

"What?" a voice came from behind her. Lily whipped her head around and was shocked to see Severus Snape standing in the doorway. He narrowed his eyes at Sirius then raised his wand. "You filthy liar," he snarled as he shot a curse Sirius' way.

Suddenly, James' arm was wrapped around Lily's waist and she was catapulted in the direction of the compartment, problem was she slammed her head into the doorframe. James gasped at the horrid crack that rebounded off her head. He caught her falling body in his arms and swooped her up bridal style. Lily moaned deeply.

"Get off her you, you-…" James didn't hear Snape insult. He was hit with a spell and instantly when stiff, his arms around Lily gripping her tightly. She groaned and her eyes cracked open. "I said drop her," Severus shouted.

"You idiot," Sirius shouted back throwing a hex Severus' way, but he deflected it. "You just froze him, he can't move to drop her," Sirius shouted throwing another hex. Severus deflected it then shot a curse at James. Suddenly James was flying through the air letting go of Lily. Lily flew with him. She landed roughly on the bench, banging her head in the same spot. James fell and broke his nose on the wall then went directly down and busted his lip open on the edge of the bench.

Remus and Peter jumped to their feet. Sirius took his chance and hexed Snape. Snape put a hand on his cheeks and saw blood. He instantly threw a curse at Sirius. Sirius fell to the ground gasping and holding his chest. Then blood was pouring out of his shirt. Remus checked on Lily as Peter checked on James. Remus then poked his head out of the compartment to see Severus standing over Sirius ready to fire another hex.

"You should just go," Remus said threateningly. "You've done enough damage," he spit. Severus looked up at him and turned his wand.

"Filthy werewolf," Snape sneered. Remus chest tightened at the insult. He clenched his muscles preparing for a nasty curse. But a savior came.

"Sirius!" Frank shouted. He ran down the corridor and kneeled next to a bleeding Sirius. Frank looked up and noticed Severus Snape standing there. He reached for Severus' arm but Severus slipped out of reach and ran down the corridor and into another carriage. Frank let him go and helped Sirius to his feet.

James meanwhile carefully moved Lily into his lap. She moaned but was out cold. James didn't even bother to wipe the blood off his face. Frank laid Sirius down on the other bench, pushing Peter onto the floor, and letting Remus sit with Lily's feet in his lap. Frank unbuttoned Sirius' shirt and started to clean the blood away with his wand.

"What was he hit with?" Remus asks.

"I think just a cutting spell. Probably a similar one to the one Severus had on his cheek." Frank uttered, " _Tergeo_ ," and cleaned the blood off of Sirius' wound. Remus took to petting Lily's shoes. Peter shivered on the floor. James stared at Lily's sleeping face.

"Will she be okay?" he croaked. Frank looked back at them and his eyes widened, not having noticed Lily until then.

"I'll be right over. Let me close Sirius' wound." He uttered, " _Vulnera Sanetum_ ," and closed Sirius' wound. "Merlin, I just came back for my notebook." Frank shook his head.

James carefully ran his hand through Lily's long red hair. He sniffled a little and watched her sleep. His hand ran down the side of her face and he noticed a purple spot near her temple. He leaned over and saw the large purple egg on the side of her head. "Frank," he warned. Frank shot a look over his shoulder.

"What? Is she waking?" he asked.

"No. I just found a purple dragon egg on the side of her head!" James' voice rose in octaves each word. Frank quickly let the yellow light stop from his wand and he twirled on the spot. He leaned over Lily and looked at the spot.

"Oh thank Merlin," Frank sighed.

"What do you mean thank Merlin?" James snapped. "She's got a dragon-."

"It's a knot, James. She'll be fine. It'll hurt, but she'll be fine. We'll have Madam Nickel check her out before the feast." James took deep breaths. "Here, let me fix your nose. _Episkey_." James felt his nose heat then freeze. "Want me to fix your lip."

"What?" James asked. Remus pointed to his bottom lip. Lily moved slightly and rested her head on James' stomach. James froze. Then Lily's eyes were blinking open. She cringed deeply and noticed Sirius was resting across from her with his shirt undone and blood dripping down his abs.

"What happened to you?" she asked. Sirius looked to her with an expression that shot the same question to her.

"Lily, do you know who I am?" Frank asked. Lily frowned.

"Of course I do, Frank. Why would you ask me that?" She furrowed her brow, groaned, and reached up to her temple. "Jesus!" She felt the large lump on the side of her head.

"Jesus?" Remus, Sirius, Frank, and James asked. Lily blinked.

"Merlin," she corrected. "What happened?" Then her head cleared. "Why was Snape hexing us?"

"Who knows," Sirius replied.

"No. There was a valid reason. It annoyed me." Lily thought back. "Why did you make that date joke, Sirius," she grumbled.

"It was funny," he defended. Then she noticed hands in her hair and she looked straight above her and saw spiked black hair and rimmed glasses. Then she figured out the pillow she was on was not a pillow at all but instead it was James' Potter.

"Sorry," she said trying to sit up. But James' hand gripped her arms tightly.

"You probably have a concussion. If you remember, I had one back in third year. You're not supposed to move quickly," James said in one breath. Lily settled back on him but her eyes flew around the compartment. She noticed Remus petting her shoes.

"I have to go tell Professor Slughorn what happened. I'm going to take points from Slytherin. Did you two fire any hexes?" Sirius and James stared blankly at him.

"Yes," Lily mumbled. "Sirius, don't lie. You defended yourself."

"Okay. I'll tell the girls where you are." Without another look back Frank was out of the compartment. Lily closed her eyes.

"My head is pounding," Lily murmured.

"Do you guys know any pain relieving spells?" James asked hopefully.

"Only a potion." Remus cringed.

"Pete, you okay?" Sirius asked. Peter looked up at him with wide eyes. "What's wrong? You usually handle this well." Sirius did not seem kind as James would be but rather impatient with Peter.

"James," Peter shakily asked. James blinked up at him, still running his hands through Lily's hair. She hadn't mentioned it yet so he would continue until she asked him to stop. "You still have blood on your lip." Peter's finger graced his own bottom lip.

"Doesn't matter," James said. Lily looked up at him.

"Makes you look rugged," she murmured. A twinge of a smile flashed across James' face. James carefully danced his fingers across Lily's scalp. "Ow," she cringed. James pulled his hands away in a flash. "Just... it's fine, Potter. Just not so close to my-."

"Lily!" Mary exclaimed. She immediately stopped in the doorway at the sight of Lily looking up at her from James Potter's lap. Marlene collided with her. Alice and Dorcas asked what was wrong.

"She's in Potter's lap," Marlene hissed. Alice and Dorcas gasped. Then they pushed themselves forward and into the small compartment.

"Black, really. You're just relaxing while poor Peter's on the floor," Dorcas said. Sirius glared at her.

"I'll have you know a minute ago I was pouring blood." Dorcas expression did not soften.

"Yeah, that was a minute ago. But now you're fine. So scoot over and let Alice and me sit down." She knocked Sirius' legs onto the ground and sat down. Alice squeezed in next to her. Marlene and Dorcas walked into the compartment and stood in front of James and Lily.

"Are you okay?" Mary asked.

"I'm fine. A knot on my head. Potter here just won't let me get up."

"Because you probably have a concussion! You're not supposed to move quickly!" James defended.

"That doesn't mean she can't move at all," Marlene saucily replied. James frowned. Lily gave him one hesitant look before she slowly sat up. Remus let her feet go and her hair trailed through James' fingers.

"Okay, everyone won't fit in here," Sirius exclaimed.

"I'll sit on your lap." Marlene sat straight on Sirius' lap.

"Mary can sit on me." Alice opened her arms. Mary sat down.

"See everyone fits," Marlene shot back to Sirius. Sirius rolled his eyes but wrapped his arms tightly around Marlene's waist. He nuzzled her shoulder but she shrugged him off. James watched Lily carefully the rest of the train ride.

At the feast, Lily was feeling much better after Madam Nickel gave her a pain potion and a clean bill of health. But her great feeling didn't last long. Alice, Dorcas, and Frank were the only things separating her and the Marauders.

"Hey, Silly-Lily," Sirius called. Lily glared at him. "Do you remember James giving you mouth to mouth?" James dropped his head into his hands. Lily threw a roll straight in Sirius' face.

Dorcas laughed way too much at the joke and the roll. She was then choking on her beef stroganoff. Alice patted her back. Sirius tossed the offending roll at her. Dorcas coughed out a piece of beef then breathed deeply. "That was funny," she said with a breath. Lily rolled her eyes along with Sirius.

…


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry I didn't update for a little while. New chapter! Yay! Review if you'd like. Hope you enjoy this story.**

…

Classes

…

The next morning was the first day of classes. All sixth years had to wait to be approved before they could go to class. McGonagall spent most of the morning waiting to the sixth year Gryffindors to come to her. Lily was up first.

"Is see you've applied for Defense Against the Dark Arts. You received an Exceeds Expectations. Approved." McGonagall was grim however. She expected more from Lily. "Potions, and Outstanding. Professor Slughorn will be happy to have you back." McGonagall did smile at that. "Transfiguration. I would hope you change that Exceeds Expectations to Outstanding on your N.E.W.T.s. I will gladly take you back." Lily smiled, she was fearful that McGonagall didn't like her much. "Charms, Outstanding. Professor Flitwick will be happy you're back. I think you are one of his best students." Lily let out a breath of relief. It seemed even though she got an O she was worried about her approval.

"Herbology, Exceeds Expectations. You sure you want to take this? I see you're also applying for Care of Magical Creatures, with an Outstanding." McGonagall looked down past her glasses at Lily's hopeful face.

"I would like to," Lily said calmly. McGonagall nodded, tapped a blank piece of parchment with her wand and Lily received her new schedule. She briskly walked over to the table to eat. Sirius walked past her and left his hand out for a high five. She thought about it but left him hanging. She sat down. Sirius rounded on her and held out a fist. She smiled and fist bumped him.

"Minnie," Sirius declared. "I would like to take DADA, Potions, Charms, Muggle Studies, and…" He held for dramatic tension. "Trans _fig_ uration." He smiled and handed her his application.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts, Outstanding. Approved. Potions, Exceeds Expectations. Approved. Charms, Outstanding. Approved. Muggle Studies," she paused at the sight. "Outstanding," she said surprised. Sirius grinned widely at her. McGonagall tipped her glasses down. "Now, Mr. Black, how on earth did you do that?"

"I have my ways," Sirius say smoothly. McGonagall hummed and replaced her glasses.

"And for Transfiguration." She pursed her lips.

"I have an O." Sirius raised his brow.

"You do, but are you sure you want to take it?" McGonagall seemed to plead for him not to.

"Well last year you told James it was a good idea to take it to become an Auror." McGonagall nodded her head. "So. I want to become an Auror." McGonagall raised her brow. "Maybe. .. I want the option open. So can I join your class of sixth years?"

"Yes," McGonagall hissed. She tapped a blank piece of parchment and his schedule appeared. James was next to appear. He sat at the table eating a bagel for a minute before he woke up some more and walked over to McGonagall.

"Morning, Minnie," he greeted. McGonagall's lips twitched with a smile.

"Morning, _Mister_ Potter." She looked over his application. "Defense Against the Dark Arts, Outstanding. Approved. Herbology, Exceeds Expectations. Approved. Charms, Exceeds Expectations. Approved. Divination!" She looked down at him.

"What can I say? I think I might become a Seer. I have a gift." He shrugged. McGonagall hummed remembering Miss Evans did not apply for that class, but then thought of the young Professor Trelawney.

"Potions, Exceeds Expectations. You're lucky Professor Slughorn allows Exceeds Expectations into this class. You'll need it to become an Auror." James nodded agreeing with her. "And Transfiguration, Outstanding, Approved. I look forward to seeing you in class." She handed him his new schedule and went back to eating.

Peter got DADA, Transfiguration, Muggle Art, Herbology, and tried for Potions but with an Acceptable he could not get it. Marlene went for DADA, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, and Study of Ancient Runes. Dorcas and Alice received DADA, Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, and Divination. Dorcas was refused Herbology, and Alice was refused Care of Magical Creatures. Mary joined James in Divination, along with DADA, Transfiguration, and Potions. Remus went for DADA, Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, and Muggle Studies.

Their day started with Potions. Peter and Marlene enjoyed a free period in the common room. They reached the dungeon and noticed Slughorn had not yet come to class. Along with Lily, James, Sirius, Mary, Alice, and Dorcas in the class there was Severus Snape and two other Slytherins, Jordan Mussel and York McMay, two Ravenclaws, Eli Rosenberg and Marissa Davenport, and two Hufflepuffs, Irene Pompeo and Justice Nelson.

"Let's see," Slughorn said coming into the dungeon. "Who do I have for N.E.W.T.s this year?" He looked around the room. "Miss Evans and Mister Snape!" He clapped his hands. "Nice to see you back. Mister Potter." He smiled. "Still trying to master the art your ancestors excelled in I see?" James grimaced. Severus snickered. "Miss Prewett." Alice waved. Slughorn rolled over Mary, Sirius, Remus, and Dorcas. "Eli Rosenberg." Eli grinned. "How is your uncle?"

"He's doing well, Professor." Slughorn smiled broadly and looked around the class. No one else of interest caught his eye and he turned to the board with a flick of his wand. He put a name of a potion up then turned to the class.

"You will be making this today. However, I have another surprise for you. You will be my test subjects, as some say this year. We will have a project that requires a partner." A gasp went around the room. Slughorn waved his finger. "I will be choosing your partner for you." A sigh was let out of the group. "Now this potion takes an extremely long time to make. It takes eight months. That is almost the entirety of the school year. I and any of you that stay for Christmas will take care of the potions for that time lapse, but for the rest of the time you and your partner will create this potion. We will add to or stir the potion each class, the time between each class will allow for it to sit and rest. I have prepared this project all summer and I am really excited to see how it ends up." He clapped his hands again.

"Now, partners will be posted tomorrow on the door. If this project goes well, I will do it for my sixth years from now on." Everyone was rather quiet. No one wanted to be a test subject.

Lily had a sinking feeling Slughorn would place her with Severus as he tended to do, for they were his top students. She wanted to make sure that wouldn't happen. At the end of class, she waited for most of the students to clear out, mainly her friends, then she walked over to Slughorn.

"Professor," she said lightly. Slughorn looked up at her with a smile. "I would like to make a request." He nodded. "I would like to not be paired with Severus Snape."

"Why, my dear?" He frowned deeply.

"Just." Lily thought for a second. She couldn't tell Slughorn what happened, but she could lie. "I would like to be paired with someone I could help. Someone who's not as good at Potions as me or Severus. You always pair us together and we already know everything, all the tricks. So if you paired me with someone else, then I could teach them and I'd be doing something good for a change."

"That sounds wonderful, my dear. I will make sure you are placed with someone who needs the extra boost in their work." He smiled and wrote something down on a piece of blank parchment. When Lily turned to leave, she noticed Severus walk excitedly over to Slughorn. Lily waited near the door and watched their conversation. Severus was talking animatedly with his hands and face alert, very unlike Severus. Slughorn however placed a hand on Severus' shoulder and told him something that made Severus' face turn red. Lily ducked out of class right after she saw Severus start to turn to look at her.

In Transfiguration, McGonagall instructed them to use non-verbal spells the whole class. All they would try to do was turn a match into a needle, something they learned in first year. James and Sirius had no issue with this, repeatedly changing their matchsticks into needles over and over again. Everyone else however was blue in the face or whispering the incantation. Lily for the life of her couldn't figure out how the pair of them were doing it.

She stomped over to the pair of them and whispered full of fury, "How the bloody hell are you doing that?" Sirius sniggered. James turned to her with innocent eyes.

"Just focus all your thoughts on the spell," James simply said.

"That's exactly what I'm doing," Lily snapped. Sirius turned around and started changing other people's matchsticks to needles.

"I did it!" a Hufflepuff shouted. McGonagall scolded Sirius then let the poor girl down gently.

"No, Evans," James started.

"Lily," she stressed. James huffed.

"Lily," he stressed back. "You're thinking of other things while you're thinking about the spell. You've got to only think of the spell. Take a few deep breaths, release all thoughts from your mind, think of the word you want, and then do the motion." Lily narrowed her eyes. She tried it and nothing happened.

"I knew you were just spewing bollocks." James rolled his eyes and took her hand. He steadied it.

"I'm not spewing bollocks, Evans," he grumbled. "You're just thinking, 'Potter's so stupid this won't work at all'." Lily frowned. "Honestly. Take a deep breath." Lily playfully took a deep breath. James gave her a look but went forward. "Listen to my voice, and only my voice." Lily grumbled something along the lines of people are whispering too loudly but listened to his voice. "Repeat the spell and _only_ the spell you want over and over again in your mind." Lily glared at her matchstick but did as he said.

"When you're getting slightly bored of the word and it starts to sound slightly strange in your mind, do the motion." Lily repeated the spell over and over again until just as he said she started to get an odd feeling about the pronunciation. Then she flicked her hand in the motion she wanted and snap the matchstick was a needle.

Lily was speechless. James grinned proudly.

"You did it!" Marlene gasped. "What did he tell you to do?" Marlene pushed her way over to James. James looked at her with a wide innocent face. "What are the steps?" Marlene asked.

"Just think only of the spell," he said simply. Marlene looked to Lily. Lily nodded agreeing with him. Marlene rolled her eyes, mumbled fine keep your secrets, and walked away.

Lunch was quiet. The first day back everyone was either too tired to say anything or so loud that no one could hear. This year was a quiet year. All the non-verbal work was getting to them. Potions had been easy, but Transfiguration was tiring. Sirius and James seemed chipper, though. They talked about the upcoming Quidditch year, what James would do with the team, and if Sirius would finally make it onto the team rather than just commentating.

"You really want to be on the team?" James asked.

"I don't know. I don't think anyone else will be as good of a commentator as I am, but you know. May as well give it a shot. With my best mate as the captain, I might just get on." Sirius winked but James' face was stone cold.

"I'm not going to pick favorites, Padfoot," he said solemnly. Sirius frowned. "I want the best team I can get this year. No one's on the team unless they come to tryouts and are the best for that position. The only one already on the team is me, because I'm captain."

"You're not even going to let Tommy Prescott onto the team without a tryout! He's been on the team since second year, just as you have been." Sirius was accosted.

"Tommy's not trying out this year. Already told me. He wants to focus on his studies." James' face turned downward at the thought of Prescott leaving the team.

"He has to be fair," Marlene mumbled. "But you are going to put me on the team, right?" She batted her eyelashes. James did not waver.

"I'll see if you're the best chaser of the group." James shrugged.

"What?" Marlene tossed a chip at him. "I was the best player for the past two years, Potter!"

"And for all I know a second or third or even a first year could be better than you."

"First year?" Marlene exclaimed. "Yeah right." She scoffed. "As if a first year could out fly me."

"I don't know yet." James shrugged. Marlene glared at her food.

"When are tryouts?" Remus asked.

"Next week sometime. Maybe the week after. I want everyone to get settled in school before I try and get my team set. Want them to be fresh."

"We've got Slughorn's party next week," Lily said. James turned to her and groaned.

"He doesn't even like me, he just likes my Dad." James pouted his lips out. "All he talks about with me is if my Dad's been working on anything new. If we did anything exciting over break, how Dad's doing, why I don't use Sleekeazy's Hair Potion, because Slughorn using it and it's amazing." James faked Slughorn's voice.

"Well this is the first party Lily's going to where she's not buddies with Snape, so you have to go," Alice stated. James gave her a shocked look. "You know no one goes to those things without a partner. I'll be with Frank the whole time and Lily will probably be either forced to talk with Severus Snape or forced to be third wheeling the whole night."

"But…" James fought.

"No, it's fine," Lily weakly said. "I can deal with Snape. I doubt he'll try talking to me after what happened on the train."

"I'll go," James instantly said remembering the train.

"No, really," Lily tried remembering James wasn't exactly supposed to be friendly with her.

"I'm going," James demanded.

"But…" Lily trailed off.

"It's not like it's a date, Evans. I'm going so I can show off my new hair gel and make Slughorn's blood boil." James gave her a wicked grin. "I really don't understand why you won't use your father's brilliant potion, Mr. Potter," he mocked. "I have an extra bottle in my quarters." His head danced around as he spoke. "Idiot's got no hair to put the damned potion on," James growled.

Dorcas sniggered. "He's so bald, it's not even funny."

In Defense Against the Dark Arts, they tried to use _expelliarmus_ and _protego_ silently. Partners were self-assigned so Sirius and James once again were partners. They got bored of using _protego_ and getting forced backward so they stopped using it and spent the class disarming each other and tossing their wands back and forth. Lily and Marlene didn't have such luck. Lily was able to disarm Marlene a few times, but Marlene was struggling.

"What the hell are you doing that I'm not?" she snapped.

"Silence!" Professor Williams shouted. The second his back was turned, Marlene stuck her tongue out at him. Lily giggled lightly. She sent the disarming spell Marlene's way and caught Marlene's wand. Marlene eyes begged for answers.

"Take a deep breath," Lily murmured. Marlene rolled her eyes but followed the instructions. "Repeat the word in your mind." Professor Williams turned swiftly and eyed Lily. He walked down the row of students. "When it starts to sound slightly funny, use the motion you want."

Marlene flicked her wrist and Lily's wand soared out of her hand. Marlene yelped and the wand flew past her head. "I did it!" she roared.

"Silence!" Professor Williams ordered. Marlene raised her arms in victory and did a little dance. James and Sirius chuckled at her.

"Again," Lily ordered after Marlene tossed her wand back. This time Lily actually defended herself. With the force of her _protego_ Marlene fell on her butt. She sent a nasty look to Lily but got up and motioned for Lily to try her. Lily tried _expelliarmus_ , Marlene's _protego_ sent her a few steps backward.

Peter was busy murmuring encouragement to Mary, his partner, and trying fitfully to give advice as he seemed to be almost as good as James and Sirius. But Mary was just simply not getting it. Peter finally abandoned his side of the classroom, walked over to her, and whispered in her ear for a minute. Mary seemed to nod in understanding then he went back to his post. She flicked her wrist and his wand flew into her free hand. She grinned and Peter clapped approvingly.

Alice and Dorcas got it next, having overhead the whispers Peter sent to Mary, and also having listen during Transfiguration when James and Lily were sniping at each other. By the end of class, the Gryffindors, Severus Snape, and one Hufflepuff had felt like they were as close to mastering non-verbal spells as they could get in one day.

Lily went off to Care of Magical Creatures, James, Dorcas, Alice, and Mary headed off to Divination, Sirius and Remus went off to Muggle Studies, and Peter went to Art. Lily was slightly worried Severus would have chosen Care of Magical Creatures just because he knew it was one of her favorite classes, but was pleasantly surprised to see only herself and a Hufflepuff, Barry Weston, had chosen to go on to N.E.W.T.s. level of Care of Magical Creatures.

At dinner, James and Sirius filled Peter in on the classes he couldn't make it to such as Potions, Muggle Studies, and Divination. He worried about not being able to get into Charms but he was happy about being able to join them in Herbology. Remus didn't fret about not being in Herbology for as he said, "I hated plants last year, I still hate plants this year, why the fuck would I care if I can't go to _Herbology_?"

Sirius went on a rant about Muggle Studies and how they would have to choose something to study for the next two years and their presentation of it would be half of their N.E.W.T grade. He asked Lily if she had any ideas for him.

"You could study movies, you like those." He frowned.

"That sounds like fun, but it would be hard to present without a few Muggle movies handy." Lily shrugged.

"It would give you an excuse to go to as many as you could."

"I'll ask if that can be extra credit. What other Muggle things strike you as Sirius worthy?" He flung around his fork.

"Fashion, but I think that's a bit too weak for a two year project. Woodwork, no." She crinkled her nose. "You would hate that."

"You said you didn't ride brooms when you were a kid. You rode?" He tapped his finger against his chin thinking for the word.

"Bicycles. You could study that but it would be rather boring. I mean. Unless you went from tricycles, to bicycles, to motorcycle, and the evolution of that." Sirius perked at the mention of a motor.

"What's a motorcycle?" Lily smiled.

"It's a bicycle but with a motor that runs it. Kind of like a car but on two wheels. You'd really like it. It's as fast as a broom, but chucked full of metal and gas."

"Gas?"

"A liquid that if you burn it, it explodes." Sirius' eyes glazed over.

"I think you found your project, Pads," James snickered. Sirius pulled out a piece of parchment from nowhere and wrote down "motoresikill."

"M-o-t-o-r-c-y-c-l-e," Lily spelled. Sirius quickly scratched out his spelling of the word and replaced it with the correct version.

"What do you have to do for Divination?" Peter asked.

"We have to be able to read tea leaves, crystal balls, palms, and something else without help, and they all have to come up with basically the same prediction," Alice answered. "I'll die with palms because I can't read that for shit, but I'm pretty good with crystal balls and tea leaves."

"I think the other thing was weather," Dorcas added. Alice wrinkled her nose.

"What are you doing in Art?" Lily asked. Peter smiled.

"We have to create a portfolio. It doesn't really count as a N.E.W.T. but we'll have a display at the end of each year on the art hall."

"What are you doing in Care of Magical Creatures?" Remus asked.

"He didn't really tell us what our N.E.W.T. test will be. He told us over the next two years we'll study all the animals we possibly can and he'll figure something out for the test at the end of 7th year. I do know I get to focus on unicorns and thesrals."

"Thesrals?" Dorcas asked.

"The animals that pull the carriages," Lily answered. Everyone drew a blank face. Lily smirked. "You know the carriage that you all think pull themselves. They're pulled by thesrals. Only people who've seen death can see them."

"When the hell have you seen death!?" Mary shouted.

"When I was five," Lily simply answered.

"Explain," Marlene ordered.

"When I was five, I saw a woman crash her car into a tree and then burn to death." Eyes widened. "I blocked it out for a few years, but it came back in nightmares when I came to Hogwarts. I talked about it with Professor McGonagall and she asked my mother what had happened. I was sent home for two days where my Mum explained what I'd seen. After that, I saw the thesrals." Lily shrugged.

"Holy shit!" Lily wasn't sure who said it.

"You saw someone burn to death?" Alice stated in disgusted awe. Lily nodded.

"That's not a common thing, Lily!" Dorcas exclaimed. Lily shrugged.

"You're acting like everyone goes through this, Lily." Marlene tugged on her.

"Are you okay?" Mary asked. Lily nodded.

"Like I said I got over it years ago."

"Do you still have dreams about it?" Sirius quietly asked.

"Every so often. I think traumatic events come up in dreams when you're stressed. The dreams often come back around testing and when I'm stressed about people." Sirius thought back through all the times his nightmares spiked in activity, and sure enough it was around the full moon, testing, visits back home, when people ticked him off, and when he was in trouble.

The next day, they had Potions and DADA again. In Potions, everyone ran to the door to see their partner.

" _Dorcas Meadows – Severus Snape_

 _Sirius Black – Alice Prewett_

 _Remus Lupin – Mary McDonald_

 _Eli Rosenberg – Irene Pompeo_

 _Justice Nelson – Jordon Mussel_

 _Marissa Davenport – York McMay_

 _James Potter – Lily Evans_ "

"Fuck!" Dorcas shouted. Snape turned dark red and slid into the seat next to her.

"Um…" Lily mumbled as James sat next to her with a blank expression. "Hi," she weakly said.

"Heyo, partner." He grinned.

…


	16. Chapter 16

**This chapter is almost entirely about workout methods. I got really into it. I'm sorry if you consider this chapter boring, but I just laugh through it because I'm reminded how much research I put into this chapter. XD**

…

Workouts and Tryouts

…

James got up and was full of nerves. James started stretching in bed and watched Sirius huff and start to wake. Sirius slumped into the bathroom to take a shower while James slid onto the floor and started his pushups staying in his boxers and forgoing cloths. He had moved on to his sit-ups when Sirius came out brushing his hair. When James started his pull ups on the frame of his bed, Sirius was pulling on his clothes.

"See you down there," Sirius said as he grabbed his bag and went out the door. James grunted in response and started the dumbbells they kept in the corner. Peter started talking in his sleep a sign that he was about to wake up when James started his burpees.

Peter sat slowly up in bed and looked over to see James doing cycling crunches. "Want to join?" James asked as he did every morning. Peter grunted and rolled back onto his stomach for sleep. James huffed and started flutter kicks then leg raises. By the time Peter was actually out of bed James had finished reverse crunches and sitting twists.

"What's next?" Peter asked as he watched James start Spiderman pushups where he bent one leg up to touch his elbow and then did the same with the other leg.

"This then mountain climbers and I'm done. Want to join?"

"I can barely do a normal pushup, Prongs." Peter watched him with envy.

"You've got to start somewhere. Come on. I won't even watch." James puffed out his breath. Peter hummed then got down on the floor. "Start out on your knees, Pete." Peter did as James said and completed five pushups. He fell to the floor and huffed. "Okay, that was great." James did four more of his pushups then sat down and faced Peter. He patted Peter's arm. "Mountain climbers are easier. Come on." James got into position and started.

"I could be eating waffles," Peter groaned as he started with James. James smirked. Remus groaned and leaned over the side of his bed.

"We still in for a weight session before your party?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, just my morning workout. Want to go flying with me before Quidditch tryouts? I need to get in a few laps before I can focus on weeding out the strong from the weak." Peter collapsed on the ground and James stood up. James stretched a little then went to the shower. Peter moved to his bed and breathed heavily.

"Why don't you look tired?" Peter whined to James. James turned around and scratched his head.

"I do this every morning, Pete. Then I do weights or the speed bag in the afternoon and have Quidditch practice at least twice a week. In the summer I went to the local boxing center and boxed or flew around my garden or swam in the lake in front of my house." Peter sighed heavily.

"Sounds like a lot of work," Peter grumbled.

"Yeah, but if you want this." James motioned to his sculpted body. "You have to work out lots." James chuckled and walked into the shower. Peter looked over to Remus.

"What do you do?" he asked. Remus ran a hand down his flat belly.

"I work out with James once or twice a week in the afternoons. He doesn't go has hard in the afternoons. Then I also transform into a werewolf once a month." Remus kicked off his covers and stared up at the ceiling.

"But you eat as much as me. I don't get it." Remus shrugged. Peter sighed heavily. James came out of the shower and put on his Quidditch uniform carrying his robes behind him.

"See you down there," James said as he walked out the door. At the Gryffindor table was several eager to please smiles and greetings for the Quidditch tryout kids.

"I'm not going to try out, Prongs," Sirius quickly greeted. James nodded and sat down next to Lily. His butt hit the bench and he dropped his head onto the table and groaned deeply.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked looking over at him with her mouth open.

"I've got a full day of tryouts today _and_ a Slughorn party tonight." He lifted his head into his hands and groaned again.

"What's so wrong with tryouts?" she asked.

"Half the people who come aren't even in our house, Evans. I have to try out every single position expect mine, and that means only six people come out of like a hundred."

"What do you mean people of other houses try out?"

"They come to tryouts," Sirius explained. Lily rolled her eyes.

"No. I mean don't you ask for the password before they tryout?" James gasped.

"That's perfect." He blinked. Lily smirked and chewed her toast. James ate a big waffle then went off to the pitch early not waiting for anyone. He did a few laps then noticed a small group gather near the goal posts on the other side of the pitch. He did one more lap before flying down and hopping off and seeing a much larger group.

"Okay!" he shouted over the crowd. "I'm going to put you into groups of five, but first I want all people not in Gryffindor to leave NOW!" Three first years ran off the pitch giggling. "Okay. One at a time you're going to come up to me and give me some information." They formed a line and started to come up to him. He asked for their name, what position they wanted to play, and the Gryffindor password. About thirty people got the password wrong. He was sure there were a few people who just happened to listen to the Gryffindor in front of them.

James had them take a lap around the pitch in twelve groups of five. A few people fell off their brooms and some of the younger ones didn't even know how to properly pick up the broom. Then James started trying out chasers. He did a weaving maneuver while passing the ball with two of them. He went through thirty people before he could pick Marlene, who'd been on the team last year. Then he had to stand in front of thirty people while he thought of who was the best. He picked out five, plus Marlene, and told the rest of leave.

Then he had the six of them try to score goals against him. He wasn't the best keeper but he managed well. Marlene and a 5th year girl, Tina Fellows, were put on the team as the other chasers. He had Tina, himself, and Marlene do the same maneuver they had practiced while two at a time fifteen people stepped up and tried out for beaters. James managed to make out Sirius' face in the crowd waiting. He groaned knowing Sirius was up to something. Sirius took the bat James offered him and held it upside down.

"Sirius!" James shouted. Sirius looked at him innocently. James rolled his eyes and let him run the drill with another boy. At the end of the fifteen beaters tryout he pulled out Lloyd Bottman, a fifth year who had been on the team the year before, and Anthony Dodgers, a fourth year. Lloyd was stocky and build like a beater. Anthony was like a piece of twine, but he had impeccable aim. Sirius whined to James, but James just took him by the shirt collar and threw him to the stands.

There he noticed Remus and Peter laughing their butts off. Marlene waved to someone higher up and James spotted Lily and Mary watching and waving back. He waved, but only Mary waved back. He grumbled to himself and turned around to face the five people trying out for keeper.

"Okay." He noticed the numbers had diminished this late in the day. "I'm going to have Marlene give you five penalty shots. The one who makes the most gets the position." James didn't feel like doing this because Quentin Charles, their third year running keeper was waiting to tryout. Quentin was a calm and collected seventh year who unlike Tommy Prescott still wanted to be on the Quidditch team.

At the end of the penalty shots two people made it out with five shots saved, Quentin and a fourth year boy. James had them race around the pitch as he held his fingers praying for Quentin to win. Quentin rounded the pitch and shot off toward James while the fourth year seemed to have trouble with his broom. James smiled big when Quentin landed on the ground.

"Charles gets keeper!" James shouted toward the other boy. The fourth year sighed and walked off with a hung head.

Lastly, James tried out seekers. One by one he pulled them alone and set the snitch free in front of them, thankful that he was lucky enough to see it easily. Six of the wanna be seekers couldn't see the snitch right in front of them. The four of them that could see and catch the snitch in their hand were then sent to do two laps around the pitch, do a hawk dive down to James, then pull up at the last second and do another lap around the pitch. Two of them fell off their broom during the hawk dive, another one fell off on their second lap around the pitch before their hawk dive, but good faithful Olivia Tate came around as seeker for the second year running, which was impressive for a fourth year.

James grouped the seven members, Lloyd Bottmann, Marlene McKinnon, Olivia Tate, Quentin Charles, Tina Fellows, and Anthony Dodgers, in front of him. "Great work, everyone. We'll have our first practice in two weeks that was the earliest I could book the pitch."

"Will we be doing the initiation now or then?" Quentin asked raising his hand excitedly. James smiled at the dumbfounded looks by Tina and Anthony.

"After our first practice is tradition." James smiled and let them go. He walked over to Sirius, Remus, and Peter. He noticed Marlene walk up to Lily and Mary who were shutting their books and getting ready to leave. "Hagrid?" James asked his boys.

"Hagrid!" Sirius shouted raising a hand. Remus kept to his book.

Peter stood, stretched, and mumbled, "I'm sore from this morning's workout." James chuckled behind his hand. Sirius looked shocked.

"You worked out this morning?" Sirius asked astonished. Peter smiled and grinned proudly.

"If you call knee pushups and like five mountain climbers a workout," Remus said dryly. Sirius burst out into laughter.

"Hey, you got to start somewhere!" Peter defended.

"Exactly, what I said," James helped. Peter smiled thankfully at him.

"Usually you try actual pushups not knee pushups. Those are for girls," came Sirius' snarky reply. Just then Marlene, Mary, and Lily came down.

"What's just for girls, Black?" Marlene asked. Sirius turned to her.

"Knee pushups," he offered. Marlene rolled her eyes. Lily laughed.

"That's for people who have no muscle, Sirius, not for girls," Lily said. Peter deflated.

"It's for people starting out," James corrected. Peter didn't seem so small at James' words.

"Lunch is over. What should we do?" Mary asked changing the subject not vying for a James/Lily fight.

"We can go to the kitchens," Remus suggested. Mary, Marlene, and Lily frowned at him.

"Joke," Sirius cut in. "That was a joke. We don't know how to get in there." He turned his back on the girls and sent Remus a glare.

"We could go to Hagrid. He usually has rock cakes," Lily suggested.

"We're going to Hagrid's," Peter pipped. Lily smiled a little at the knowledge. Mary and Marlene were silent along with Remus and Sirius.

"Well let's go," James said breaking the silence. He started off.

"Don't you want to change?" Lily asked Marlene and James.

"Nah," Marlene answered. "I'll take these off though." She sat down and took her knee and arm pads. James thought about it but didn't.

"They make me look rugged." He winked at the girls. Lily rolled her eyes, Mary blushed, and Marlene gave him a deadpanned expression.

James pounded three times on Hagrid's door. It opened quickly and big old Hagrid smiled at the group waiting for him.

"I see yer brough' friends," he said. James nodded and smiled wide.

"I brought Sirius, Remus, Peter, and also Mary, Marlene, and Lily."

"Oi! Lily Evans? Blimey, I don' see er." He looked beyond the heads and spotted red hair. "There you are! James talks a right 'mount 'bout you." He opened his arms and one by one they entered his cottage. Lily blushed a little when Hagrid grinned at her. "All good things," he said softly. Lily nodded.

"Except the times you hexed him," Sirius said. Lily grinned at the memories.

"I have rock cakes, an' chicken, an' tea." Hagrid got to work and handed Lily a chair which she shared with Mary. Hagrid passed plates of chicken and rock cakes to everyone. Marlene bit into the rock cake then held her tooth with a grimace. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter knowingly took smaller bites. Lily and Mary followed the boys once Marlene put hers down. They were starving. They downed all the chicken and even a few rock cakes a piece. "Blimey, yer hungry. I wish I had mor'." Hagrid looked around then shuffled a few things this way and that.

"What's that, Hagrid?" Mary asked pointing at a piece of what seemed to be oddly shaped fruit. Hagrid made a sound of joy and picked up a few pieces. He took out a knife and cut them up.

"I wer savin' this for an anima' but he's not come back ye'." Hagrid frowned slightly but handed out the little pieces of pear and apple. They were consumed quickly without a second thought.

Hagrid sat and watched them eat just happy for the company when he spotted the Quidditch uniforms and gasped. "'ames, how wer yer tryouts? Di' Marlene make i' in?" He looked to Marlene, she gave him a thumbs up.

"Also Anthony Dodger a fourth year, Quentin Charles, Olivia Tate, Tina Fellows a fifth year, and Lloyd Battmann. Anthony's my replacement for Tommy Prescott, Tina's my replacement for Pinkie McFay."

"Wha' eve' happen to Pinkie?" Hagrid asked.

"Pinkie went on to fight on the good side of the war. I think Pinkie's in the Auror department, maybe not. But on the good side. I know that." James waved his hands around as he talked. Hagrid turned to Remus.

"Remus, how are you?" Remus blinked.

"Good. I'm." He looked pointedly at Lily, Mary, and Marlene. "I'm good. I'm going to workout with James before his party with Slughorn."

"What are you doing, because if it's back day or leg day, I'm out. But if its chest day or shoulder day I'm in," Sirius said. Lily and Mary shared a look of confusion.

"It's chest day," James said. "And you have to work out your back and legs. Otherwise nothing will be right." Sirius flicked his hair and reclined in his seat.

"Please, I look amazing."

"What does back day entail?" Lily inquired. James turned to her.

"Deadlifts." James stood and then reached for his toes then moved upward. "Pull ups, front raises." James lifted his arm from his side straight up so his arm was extended in front of his face. "Inverted rows, which is where you're on this incline and you do a pull up on the incline."

"How do you do that?" Marlene asked.

"We layer our mattresses on top of each other and use our bed frame." Sirius tapped his nose and grinned.

"We also do this thing where you bend over and then you pull up on your dumbbells." James stood up, bent over with his butt out, and pulled his hands from his ankles to his hips.

"How does this work out your back?" Mary asked giggling.

"So to work out your back muscles you have to hold your posture for long periods of time, and it has to be a weird position, like the inverted rows or my bend over thing. You use heavy dumbbells and you do pullups with um…" He turned to Sirius. "What's that thing that loops together called?"

"He uses this big metal chain and wraps it around his neck like a necklace. We don't do that." He motioned to Remus and himself.

"I do that," Remus exclaimed. "On… occasion." He slumped over.

"Now I feel like I need to know what leg day, chest day, and shoulder day is all about," Mary said. She wrinkled her face like she didn't really want to know but she did at the same time.

"Leg day we do lunges, split squats, squats, deadlifts again, step ups, and more squats," James answered.

"Leg day is a lot of squats." Sirius nodded.

"Is that the day you guys run up all the stairs carrying things?" Lily asked. Remus, Sirius, and James nodded their heads.

"Chest day is incline presses which is where we tip a chair onto its back legs and freeze it there then we do a normal push up from the chest." He let his fists fall onto his chest then he pushed them up until his arms were straight. "We do a bench presses, then we do incline flyes which is where you pull the dumbbells from the full length of your wingspan in to your chest, and then we do pushups."

"Lots of pushups," Sirius added.

"And then shoulder day, we do shoulder presses, where you start at your shoulder and go up. We do one where are arms go from our sides until their level with our shoulders, we do a kettlebell snatch which is an odd one. You take a dumbbell and kinda move it between our legs while we squat a little then move it back and stand. Then we do a rotating shoulder press where we start out with our palms facing us and then turn then when they reach over our head to face the other way." James motioned with his hands.

"Seems like a lo' a wor' for that," Hagrid said motioning to James' body. James didn't take offence, but he didn't smile as he usually would with Hagrid. He looked at him without expression then turned to look at Sirius, who was frowning deeply.

"So you're doing what today?" Lily asked breaking the tension.

"It's chest day," James answered.

"Well you can't do all of it because we have Slughorn's party at six and it's four now," Lily said. James jumped to his feet and grabbed Remus by the shirt collar.

"Thank you, Hagrid. The food was amazing. Come on, Pete! I'll let you freeze the chair and count my pushups. Hey, maybe you could do a few more," James said excitedly. Peter grumbled and followed Sirius out of Hagrid's.

After bidding farewell to Hagrid, the girls started up to the castle. "What do you two do to keep in shape?" Marlene asked. "I do Quidditch which is enough exercise forever," she said proudly.

"I walk the castle, Marlene," came Lily's snarky reply.

"That's all you do?" Mary asked.

"It's a big fucking castle, of course that's all I do," Lily exclaimed.

"What? But you look so fit!" Mary motioned to Lily's rather athletic looking body.

"Well, I mean. I swim in the summer time. I take stairs two at a time, go the long way sometimes, run around the castle if I'm bored between classes. It's not like I sit around all day. I walk or run or tap my foot." Lily shrugged.

"Can you do pushups?" Marlene asked.

"Yeah. I just don't ever really do them. I'll do them for a contest or something. I do them occasionally before bed when I'm not yet tired."

"What?! I eat better than you, I do jumping jacks, burpees, pushups, sit ups, go on a run for like ten to twenty minutes, and I do planks like all the time!" Mary groaned loudly.

"I never see you do any of those things," Lily said in a soft voice.

"That's because I do them during the periods we don't have together. Last year I did them when you to were off in the library studying, or down for breakfast early."

"Sorry, Mary. I can't help the way my body is." Lily sighed at looked down at herself. Mary looked over at her and felt upset.

"I can't either, it's just. It's unfair, is all."

"We all are smoking hot so it doesn't matter," Marlene said as she wrapped her arms around each of her friends.

…

 **Thank you to all that reviewed/favored/followed and thank you to all who will continue to do so.**


	17. Chapter 17

…

Slughorn's Party

…

"What is he wearing?" Mary asked.

"Who?" Lily asked back.

"James?" Mary said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why the hell should I know?"

"Because it's practically a double date with Frank and Alice. I'm sure they'll be matching or something sweet like that. Hey, Alice!" Marlene shouted.

"What?" Alice shouted from the shower.

"Are you and Frank matching to this party?"

"No. But. … No. We're not matching, I don't think. I think he's wearing a red tie and I'm wearing a black scooter skirt and white ascot blouse."

"So you're practically matching," Marlene replied.

"Well. I. Mean. He'll be my color, so I guess." Alice came out of the bathroom dressed with her hair pulled up in a bun.

"You look like a secretary," Dorcas stated. Alice's face widened.

"What makes me look that way?" she exclaimed running her hands down her body.

"I think it's the bun. Keep it down and flowy." Alice quickly released her hair. It flowed down.

"That's better," Mary smiled. "Now what should Lily wear?" All four of them turned on Lily.

"Knee high boots for this one," Dorcas said. There were hums of agreement. Lily felt like they were the predators and she was the prey.

"Should she wear skirt or dress?" Marlene asked.

"Dress, definitely a dress." Dorcas started to rummage through Lily's closet. "Oh this is perfect!" She pulled out black sleeveless dress that Lily usually wore a white blouse with flowy arms under. Dorcas pulled the blouse out with it.

"Perfect!" three voices exclaimed. Lily took the dress and blouse and put them on then struggled with the boots before zipping them up.

"What should we do with her hair?"

"French braid it, Mary," Dorcas ordered. Mary quickly got to it while Alice sat down on her bed and petted her skirt down. She put her red heels on and Lily smiled, they were going to be matching.

"You know this isn't a double date, right guys," Lily said.

"We know," Dorcas sighed. "It would be cute if you and he were matching, though."

"Should one of us go tell him what she's wearing? So he wears a pop of color? She's wearing all black and some white," Marlene said.

"No. Let him be," Lily replied. She fingered the clasps on her boots as Mary braided her hair. "My color will be my hair."

In the common room, Frank and James sat messing with their cufflinks and hair respectively. "This isn't a double date, is it?" James asked.

"I don't think so. Alice didn't tell me. I think we're just going to the party." Frank shrugged and looked up the girls' staircase. He was wearing a white button down tucked in, black trousers, a black suit vest, a red neck tie, and black loafers.

James was wearing a deep purple shirt with small black circle designs on it which he had chosen to not tuck in and to leave two buttons unbuttoned, grey trousers, a dark grey jacket, black oxfords, and he had taken his glasses off. He messed with his hair again. "Good, good," he said to mostly himself. "I don't want her to think I'm asking her out." Frank raised an eyebrow. James waved him off. "It's this thing I'm doing."

"Playing hard to get?" Frank asked. James frowned then thought about it.

"Possibly, yeah." James nodded and stuffed his hands in his back pockets. When the girls come down, they smiled at both boys, but Lily quickly lost her smile. He was wearing purple. He'd be her color, if they were on a date, she thought.

"You look nice," James greeted. Lily smiled and thanked him. She carefully touched her up do and looked over him.

"Where are your glasses?" She squinted her eyes. James shuffled his feet.

"I… I think I look better without them on." Lily smirked.

"Is it because you can't see your face?" James frowned deeply at her chuckle.

"No… I can see just fine. I see your face. I just can't." He turned her around and pointed to the posters on a wall six feet away, unknowingly making him almost embrace Lily. "I can't make those words out on that poster." Lily sucked in a breath when she felt his chest make contact with her back. She hummed and swiftly turned around so there was distance between them. James smiled at her. Lily noticed she was chewing her lip and stopped.

"What are these circles?" she asked pointing to one of the small woven circles on James' shirt. James picked at one and looked closely.

"I think they're just little woven lines that form a circle," he said looking at it closely. They blended well with the color of his shirt. Lily hummed, nodded her head, and pulled back. They followed Frank and Alice down to the dungeons. Frank and Alice swung their hands back and forth as they walked. Lily noticed James had his arm dangling by his side so she quickly wrapped her arm behind her back and held onto her other arm.

"You wanna hear the new prank idea we have?" James asked. Lily nodded silently just wanting the silence to disappear. "Okay." James started moving his hands as he talked. "So this isn't too mean. It's kinda fun actually. When I was a kid my Dad would enchant the floor so it was bouncy and I'd jump on it, do all these flips and just have a ton of fun."

"Like a trampoline?" Lily asked. James frowned not understanding her. "It's a bouncy surface that you can bounce and do flips on."

"I guess then. But I need to owl my Dad and get the spell he used. I got back into over the summer. I hadn't done a flip in over a year before the summer. Now I'm practiced enough I can do one without a bouncy for high up surface again. I used to do them all the time, but I guess I just stopped thinking they were cool." James shrugged.

"They're impressive. But it gets annoying when you do it all the time." James looked over to her a little surprised.

"They're so much fun." He seemed to drop the disappointment in the fact that his skills annoyed her. "You're flying through the air, so much different than a broom because you have nothing holding you up and the world is spinning then you're back on your feet and it's all over in an instant so to get that feeling again you have to do it again." His words were quick.

"So besides making the floor bouncy, what's the prank?"

"Oh, we're going to put barriers in the hallways so people can't get out and they have to keep jumping." James flashed her an evil grin. "We'll probably do it to the Hufflepuffs or Slytherins. Maybe just a random hallway." He shrugged. "Haven't thought through that much."

"How would people get in if you put barriers up so people can't get out?" James frowned.

"Well. It would be a one-sided barrier. So people could get in but not out."

"Yeah, but wouldn't people see that the people trapped inside were trapped and bouncing and then just avoid the area?" James frowned again.

"We could put up a shield so they couldn't see in, it would look empty." James smiled a little. "Thanks for helping out." They reached the dungeons and James opened the door for Lily, Frank, and Alice.

Already at Slughorn's party was Severus, another Slytherin whose father was high up in the Ministry, Eli Rosenberg with the famous uncle, a Ravenclaw with a famous grandfather, and a fourth year Hufflepuff who was terrified and must be a high achieving student. Slughorn had their names on cards in front of seats and Lily was devastated to see she was placed to the right of Severus Snape. James was across from her, Eli was to her other side, and Alice and Frank were right next to Slughorn.

Slughorn went around the table starting with Alice and Frank. They talked about their studies and their family lives. Severus leaned over to Lily's ear. "Lily," he whispered. Lily tensed her jaw and kept her eyes focused on James, who was busy watching Alice converse with Slughorn.

"Lily, please," Severus whispered. Lily didn't acknowledge him. "Fine. I'll talk, you listen. I didn't mean what I said." Lily forced down a groan and tapped James' foot across the table. He moved his foot away and didn't look her way. Lily clenched her jaw. "It was in the heat of the moment, Lily. Potter got me so upset and then you defended me, but… but you must see that that only showed him what he sees of me, a weakling. You and I both know that's not what I am so for you to defend me in that position wasn't right." Lily kicked James' foot with a larger force. He jumped a little and looked around the table before he saw Lily's intense eyes.

He gently kicked her back. "Lily," Severus said, "I'm not asking for an apology. I don't deserve one. But I think you've punished me enough. I want to be friends again."

"I'm busy," Lily grunted out. Severus frowned. Lily kicked James' foot and he kicked back, then they started an innocent game of footsy.

"With what? Slughorn's not talking to you," Severus whispered angrily.

"I'm enjoying myself, and you're ruining it," Lily spat. She held back a giggle when James' face turned a little red while he tried to keep her feet from resting on his knees. They scissor their legs back and forth. Then small grins were on their faces.

"Enjoying yourself? You hate these parties," Severus fiercely whispered. Lily flashed him a look through the side of her eye.

"Maybe I've changed my mind."

"Since when?" Severus chucked up on the table and leaned in to her.

"Eli," Lily said turning to face Eli Rosenberg next to her. Eli came out of a daze and blinked a few times at her face. He smiled slightly. "How are you?" Lily asked.

"I'm doing well." Eli smiled. He leaned in. "But just between you and me, I hate these parties." James frowned deeply when Lily turned to Eli. He kicked her foot extra hard. She flinched. Her eyes sent him a quick message to hold on.

"Me too, me too," Lily trailed off and turned back to face James. Eli sighed slightly but went back to his daydream. Lily kicked James extra hard in the shin, but he smiled lightly and tapped her foot again.

"Lily, my dear," Slughorn called across the table. "Have you read any new potion magazines? If not I have one for you."

"I've been reading a new addition about finding cures for…" She paused and stopped messing around with James. "A cure for lycanthrope." James's happy face fell a little.

"Why?" Slughorn asked.

"I've been interested in it lately." Lily shrugged. "So I've been looking at new potion ideas to cure or start to cure lycanthrope. It's such a horrid disease to the person effected and anyone in their reach. They should be able to have a chance of not going through awful transformations once a month. And I'm looking into where we've gotten with that." Slughorn silently nodded his head.

"And how are your parents doing in the Muggle world?" he asked quickly changing the topic to something he'd prefer. Lily slumped a little at the change in subject. James felt his heart grow a little more in love with Lily.

"They're doing wonderful. My mother's practice is doing well. My father just got a raise in position so he's now manager of his section in the factory-."

"What does your mother practice again?" Slughorn leaned forward interested in this topic.

"She's a therapist. She talks with people about their emotions and works with them to overcome hardships or emotional disturbances or disorders." Slughorn smiled.

"Give them my best. Mr. Potter." Slughorn turned to James. James sat up a little straighter, but Lily started pushing his feet again. James smirked and pushed back so the bottoms of their feet were against each other. "How is your father doing?" Slughorn asked.

"He's doing well." James fought off a laugh when Lily gripped the table and pushed against James. Severus narrowed his eyes at Lily.

"Coming out of retirement anytime soon?" Slughorn tilted his head.

"No. No. He's happy visiting friends, working on his little projects, and he's hoping Dumbledore will let him come see my first Quidditch match as captain." Slughorn sighed heavily.

"Does he ever talk about his glory days? Inventing potions?" James sighed and messed with his food a little. Lily shoved extra hard on his feet. Then James was flying onto his back on the floor. Slughorn jumped about a foot in his chair. "Mr. Potter!" Slughorn stood slightly. Lily covered her mouth. Everyone chuckled.

James popped back up. "I'm okay!" he exclaimed quickly raising his hands to indicate that he was in fact okay. Slughorn narrowed his eyes.

"What was that, Mr. Potter?" he asked seriously. Lily blushed a pale pink. James tried his hardest to not look her way.

"Suddenly I was… I think I might have been confunded!" James lied. Alice shot him a narrowed eyed look. Slughorn nodded but didn't believe him. He turned to talk with a Slytherin.

"You shouldn't be so childish. He's turned you into one of _them_ ," Snape seethed. Lily clenched her jaw and stared at James who was taking the embarrassment in his stride.

When Slughorn released them, Lily shot straight to Alice and Frank. Alice questioned her about Severus. James pushed a flirty Ravenclaw away or rather ran away and squeezed in between Alice and Lily.

"Protect me," he squeaked. Lily laughed.

"Since when do you deny a girl in need?" James frowned at her.

"I'm…" He straightened up. "I'm going stag until a good offer comes around." Lily smirked at the joke.

"What's with you and saying stag all the time?" Alice asked. "You can just say single like a normal person." Alice rolled her eyes. Lily and James shared a side eyed smirk.

"I like deer," James simply said.

"What?"

"Well the Marauders call him Prongs," Lily added.

"Why do they call you that?" Frank asked. James went wide eyed.

"Because of his hair," Lily answered. She pointed to the spikes on top of James' head.

"How do _you_ know that?" Alice narrowed her eyes.

"One day I asked, simple as that, _Alice_." Lily smirked conspiringly. When they got into the common room, Frank kissed Alice good bye and walked up the boys' stairs. Alice walked slowly upstairs in a sort of daze with her boyfriend. Lily found herself oddly waiting behind with James.

"Thanks for distracting me," Lily awkwardly said.

"Well, you're the one who started it. But… thanks for embarrassing me in front of the 'Slug Club'" He made air quotes. Lily hummed.

"You took the embarrassment well, I'll give you that." James chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. Lily smiled and swung back and forth. She watched him shift on his feet before she jumped out of her daze. "Okay, well good night." She placed one foot on the bottom step. James' heart sunk, she didn't want a kiss. But he rebounded quickly and reminded himself it wasn't a date.

"Night, Lil," he called out when she hit the third step. Lily froze a little at the nickname. She turned around to ask him about it but he was already taking two steps at a time up the boys' staircase.

…


	18. Chapter 18

…

Good Day Turned Bad

…

James had felt wonderful. He had chosen a great Quidditch team, woken up on time that morning, and had gotten down to breakfast while there were still chocolate chip waffles out. He felt on top of the world. That was until the owls came out. He had been dreading getting the mail. Ever since Potions class when he accidentally spilled water into their yearlong project, and Lily had only steamed in anger. The last time she was this angry with him she had sent him a howler.

Then an owl dropped the red envelope on his waffle and Sirius catcalled him. He looked down the Gryffindor table to Lily, who was sitting a good half the table away. She flashed her eyes over to him with an evil glint shining within her emerald orbs. James turned beet red.

"Open it, open it, open it, open it," Sirius chanted.

"You've got to open it, James," Remus said.

"You don't want it to sit and explode on you," Peter added. James nodded, closed his eyes and opened the damned letter.

"James Fleamont!"

"Fucking," Mary added.

"Potter!" Lily roared. Heads turned to him. He sunk into his chair. "How could you possibly spill WATER into our Potions project!? What the bloody hell? Now we have to start all the fucking way OVER! Making us THREE weeks behind which, by the way, is a VERY hard thing to do when we've only been in school for TWO and a half fucking weeks. I _hate_ you." The envelope spit on him then shredded itself. He took a moment to regroup before looking down at a laughing Lily, Mary, and Marlene.

"There are first years sitting right next to us, Evans!" Sirius shouted. "How dare you use the F word so often!" Lily gave him the finger. The first years sitting directly beside them giggled and hid their faces.

"You spilled water into your potion?" Remus asked.

"By accident," James stressed. Peter looked sideways wanting to snicker along with the first years but not wanting to break James' confidence.

"I think you need to talk to Evans, Prongs," Sirius declared. James looked at him as if he was nuts. "Knock some sense into her. She thought that was funny. Just look at her laughing." James looked down the table. His chest clenched at her smiles.

"You probably should talk to her," Remus suggested. "She needs to know it was an accident. I think she believes you did it on purpose."

"Of course she does," James snapped. "I can't do anything right in her eyes. Why did Slughorn even put us together in the first place?"

"I think she requested you," Remus said. James looked taken back. "I saw her stay late the first day. Asked to be placed with someone." Remus shrugged. "Couldn't tell who."

"That's it." James stood and stalked down the table. He snatched Lily's arm and tugged her out of her seat and down the Great Hall. People oohed and awed, a few catcalls.

"Potter," Lily snapped. James didn't turn away. He was careful with her and made sure she wasn't being dragged but he did walk her swiftly into a dark corner. He pressed her back into the stone and glared down at her. "What?" she spit.

"That was uncalled for," he spit back. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Please. Since when have you not had a sense of humor about howlers?"

"Since when have you had a sense of humor about howlers?" Lily narrowed her eyes. "You're the nicest person to everyone _but_ me. I didn't spill the water on purpose, Evans. I did it on accident. And I'll have you know I was shoved while I was drinking it. It spilled by pure accident-."

"You were shoved? Really?" Lily placed her hands on her hips. "The next table is three feet away from us, Potter. No one was even at that table. You weren't shoved. Lame excuse."

"I was shoved! Maybe someone hit me with a spell."

"Please," Lily scoffed.

"Really? You think Snape wouldn't hit me with a spell to mess up our potion? He _hates_ me. He hates me even more when I'm even remotely close to you. How do you think he feels with us being partners? I should just go ahead and tell him you requested me."

"Request you?" Lily laughed heartlessly. "You're full of yourself today. I didn't request you, Potter. I requested not to be with Snape."

"Oh how would he feel with that knowledge in his brain?"

"He probably already knows, idiot." James frowned. "Yeah, I saw him talking with Slughorn about the project. Slughorn had to tell him I asked to be placed with someone who needed _help_ in the class. How do you feel knowing Slughorn immediately thought of you?" She raised her brow. James chuckled.

"Of course he thought of me. I'm not doing the best I can in that class."

"And why is that may I ask?" Lily's arms slowly crossed over her chest. James mirrored her.

"I have my reasons, Evans." Lily narrowed her eyes. "I don't need to tell you."

"You know I was having a perfectly good day before you pull me out of breakfast in front of everyone."

"I was having a perfectly good day before you sent me a howler!" he shot back. Lily's face softened. She looked to the floor. James shoved his hands into his pockets. "It was uncalled for," he grumbled.

"Called for," she grumbled back.

"Now they probably think we're snogging in a broom closet." James huffed. Lily groaned and threw her head back. God she looked beautiful, James thought. Cheeks pink, neck exposed, eyes livid.

"They always think we're off snogging," she grumbled. James' eyes widened. "Why do they think we're a couple? We obviously hate each other?" James' heart squeezed.

"I didn't know we hated each other," he mumbled. Lily's eyes flashed up to his. He got lost in her eyes. He absolutely did not hate Lily Evans.

"We… don't." She wiggled in her spot. "We just." She sighed. "Fight all the time."

"No we don't." James frowned deeply. Lily raised her brow at him. "Okay we do, but I'm trying to make that stop. I hate fighting with you."

"Because you always lose?" She grinned.

"I don't always lose, and no. I like you." James froze. "As a friend," he said quickly. Lily nodded a different pink flushing her cheeks.

"Then let's be friends." She relaxed. James smiled and turned slightly so she could be released from the wall. She quickly slid out.

"That means you have to spot bullying me," James teased. Lily rolled her eyes.

"No, it means you have to try hard not to be an idiot around me."

"Can't help it. Can't think around you." Lily's eyes flashed up to his face. James shrugged. "You get under my skin."

"Same," Lily sighed. James felt his chest weaken. Did that turn her on as much as it turned him on? He looked hopeful but she looked forlorn. His face fell, obviously not. "You've at least got to stop pinning me against walls, Potter." James' face widened. Lily smirked, she bumped shoulders with him.

"Right," James dumbly said. Lily laughed and they walked back into the Great Hall.

"Okay. Morning behind us, friends?" She reached a hand out. James shook it.

"Deal." He smiled and skipped down the table to his friends. Lily slipped in beside Mary. Marlene raised her brow.

"What bet did you make?" Marlene asked. Lily contorted her face. "Handshake," Marlene mentioned.

"Oh. No. We just made a truce." Marlene and Mary ahhed. Lily went back to her toast quickly.

James sat down still keeping his eyes on Lily who had answered a few questions before chewing her toast. He felt a silly grin on his face.

"Why was she laughing?" Peter asked.

"What was the handshake?" Remus asked.

"Did you get all heated and almost snog again?" Sirius asked. James shook his head taken back for a minute.

"She made a joke, we made a deal, no," he answered according to friend. Remus and Peter seemed happy with themselves but Sirius frowned deeply. He adjusted himself so he was almost across the table, in James' face.

"So you're telling me, you didn't pin her against a wall and threaten her… almost?" A heat rose in James' cheeks. Sirius looked pleased with himself.

"I… pinned her against a wall and talked… seriously with her." James tilted his head. Sirius threw his head back and laughed.

The day went smoothly, until Care of Magical Creatures/Divination time. James and Lily had mostly stayed away from each other after being civil in Potions. When their friends went their separate ways, James had gone to the bathroom. Lily herself was walking down the corridor when he bumped into her.

"Did I miss them?" James asked quickly. Lily stopped herself from falling by placing her hands on his chest. She looked up at him, bending her head backwards, and suddenly realized he was far too tall. James looked down at her. It took him a second to realize she was blushing and still had her hands against his pectoral muscles.

"Miss… who?" Lily stumbled. James smiled.

"Mary, Dorcas, and Alice? They were going to Divination." He looked around the hall. Lily's hands jumped away from him and were shoved into her pockets.

"No. They uh booked it out of here taking Peter, Sirius, and Remus with them." James nodded and looked down at her waiting to leave.

"Want me to walk you to Care of Magical Creatures?" he offered. Lily looked at her feet and shook her head, then a grin stumbled on her face.

"Being chivalrous is part of being friends now?" she teased. James chuckled.

"It can be," he replied. Lily hummed.

"No. I think I'm going to take that short cut across the forest."

"Isn't that where Dirk Cresswell got attacked?" James clenched his fist at the thought of the constant muggle-born attacks as of late.

Lily swallowed a lump and shook her head. "No. No. That was near the Quidditch pitch after a Hufflepuff practice. He… he was the last one off the pitch and that's when." She trailed off and chewed her lip.

"You sure you don't want me to walk you? I'm up for it." James tilted his head. Lily shook hers.

"No. No. I'll take the short cut, and you'll be late for Divination if you take me." James frowned.

"I can be late. I'd rather not see you-."

"I'm fine, Potter." Lily stepped around him and started off to the doors. James swept around to see her back.

"See you at dinner!" James waved to her back. Lily waved her hand not looking to him. James waited until she was out the door before he turned on his heel and started for Divination.

During class, they were looking at palms. Professor Trelawney the new teacher had looked at his palm for him. She seemed distressed. "Oh… oh poor boy." James frowned deeply.

"What?" he asked.

"You… die very young." James felt like the wind was taken out of him. "But…" Professor Trelawney tilted her head. "You have a very strong love line. One very deep, passionate love in your life. Found young, but you are in pain for such a long time over this love… until she loves you back just as deeply." James felt his heart hammer in his chest.

"She does?" he questioned. Professor Trelawney nodded.

"A very passionate love you two have." She smiled, turned around, and went to another student. James felt his heart bubble. Lily, he thought.

"What'd she say?" Dorcas whispered in his ear. James couldn't speak.

"Um…"

"She said he had a passionate love for a long time with someone who eventually after a long time of pain for James, she'd love him just as deeply," Alice whispered back. James opened his mouth and closed it several times.

"So he and Lily?" Dorcas said. Alice tilted her head back and forth but basically nodded.

"So she loves me?" James whispered. Dorcas and Alice narrowed their eyes.

"Really?" Dorcas asked blatantly. James looked at her with hopeful eyes. Dorcas rolled hers. James turned to Alice. She patted his shoulder.

"After a long time of pain from you," Alice said. James blinked.

"I've already suffered five years' worth." Alice gave him a thoughtful look. "How much longer could it possibly be?"

"Well… she said you died young. So maybe Lily kills you in your sleep on your honeymoon?" Dorcas said. James frowned deeply. Dorcas laughed. "Oh come on, James." She shoved his arm.

After Divination, James desperately needed a long walk. He found himself, however walking toward the shortcut to Care of Magical Creatures.

Lily waved goodbye to Barry Weston as he took the long path and shoved her book in her bag. She was halfway to the castle when she heard a branch break. Her hand swiftly moved to her wand pocket, but she was forced by an unforeseen mass to lay on the ground, or rather fall to the ground and be held there. Lily groaned as her chin hit the ground roughly.

She heard chuckles of laughter. She turned her head but her cheek was immediately squished to the ground. Mulciber, Avery, Rosier, and… Lucius Malfoy came out of the trees.

"Looks like we got a mudblood," Malfoy snarled.

"What should we do first?" Rosier asked. Mulciber didn't wait. He stepped forward and sliced his wand upward like a sword. Lily's legs felt slashed. Avery caught on chuckling and did the same motion. Lily's arms felt the same pain. Her clothes felt sticky and wet.

"Mudblood," Malfoy sang. "Let's mark you so everyone knows." Lily grunted and glared at him. Lucius' hand danced and wrote something above her left arm. One at a time, M-U-D-B-L-O-O-D was spelled onto her skin in blood. Lily grunted not wanting to give them the satisfaction of watching her scream.

"My turn," Rosier growled. He stepped forward and flicked his wand rapidly. Lily's body bounced along the ground. She groaned feeling bruises form on her body. Rosier looked her straight in the eye before flicking his wand roughly at her eye. Her head ricocheted off the ground from the impact to her eye. She groaned deeply.

"Now, boys." Lucius stopped them and held up his hands. "Time for the main show." He turned his wand at Lily. " _Crucio_." Suddenly pain so intense she felt tears pop out of her eyes before she could think was surrounding her body. Her screams could not be held at bay, she let loose, hoping someone would come for her to make the pain stop.

After what felt like ages, Lucius pulled the spell off Lily and snapped at Mulciber, Avery, and Rosier. They were on their knees and holding their stomachs, their lunch coming up.

"You better get used to it," Lucius snapped. "The Dark Lord doesn't tolerate this mercy you are showing." Mulciber wiped his mouth and looked pitifully at Lucius. "Be more like Snape," Lucius snapped. Lucius grimaced and pulled up his cloak sleeve. He looked to his Dark Mark and saw something Lily could not. "I'm being summoned." He turned to Mulciber. "Wipe her memory." He turned on the spot and disapparated.

Mulciber stepped forward. Just then Lily gripped her wand. She thought long and hard of _protego_. Mulciber pointed his wand at Lily. " _Oblivate_ ," he said. Lily made the motion for _protego_ with her wand but then things started to darken.

She woken to hear feet running against the ground, laughter in the air. She opened her eyes to see Mulciber standing above her. He sneered at her. "Mudblood, you filth." He raised his foot and kicked her in the face. Lily's nose snapped with an awful noise. Her head rebounded against the ground and the lights went out.

James saw the opening of the shortcut come into view and smiled thinking of Lily coming out any second. He'd walk her back to the Tower before dinner. Maybe she'd notice him, finally. Maybe he should just ask her out. Or should he wait for her to come to him? He had promised himself he'd wait for her to come to him. But with Professor Trelawney's predictions he didn't know if he wanted to wait.

Then his heart stopped. It wasn't red hair he noticed running out of the opening, it was Evan Rosier, following by Avery. James' stomach dropped, the two of them were mixed between fear and happiness. He took off at a sprint ignoring the two of them. He raised his wand to hex them, but he spotted Mulciber walking slowly. His pace sped up. He fired a Bat Bogey hex at Mulciber. Mulciber reached for his nose in pain. James fired a hitting hex next then _castero_ to hit his crotch hard. James didn't stop his pace though and he was past Mulciber quickly.

"LILY!" James yelled as he saw her on the ground. He skidded to a stop and crashed onto his knees. Tears threatened to fall. Blood was pouring down her swollen face, but there was more blood spreading across her clothes. James sniffled and remembered Frank's healing spells. He used a few on Lily, but didn't know how to stop the bleeding. He picked her up much like he did on the train and started to jog to the opening.

"Help!" he shouted. A large shadow came across James' side. "Hagrid," James quickly breathed.

"Lil-Lily?" Hagrid sobbed. He took Lily in his arms. James sprinted to keep up with Hagrid's brisk pace to the castle. "Wa happen'ed?" Hagrid asked.

"She. I. Mulciber, Avery, and Rosier were coming from her. I." James looked lost then his eyes tightened. "They did this to her," he growled. Hagrid and James barged into the hospital wing.

…


	19. Chapter 19

**Sorry I didn't update for a while. I plan on updating more often as I did in the past in a week or two. Have fun!**

…

Recovering

…

James held Lily's hand tightly in his own. He didn't remember what had happened between Lily being treated by Madam Nickel and Dumbldore, McGonagall, Slughorn, and Sprout coming in. All he knew was he was the only one allowed to stay. They kicked out lice and Dorcas, who had saw Hagrid and James sprinting to the hospital wing. All ill students were pushed out of sight and for extra measure there was a silencing spell around the group of teachers, James, and Lily.

Lily's body ached. Her arms, her legs, her stomach and shoulders, and especially her head. Her nose had it's own heartbeat not to mention her right eye, man her right eye was hurting like hell. If she could open her damned mouth she'd shout fuck. But beyond all the pain she felt a hand holding hers. She felt safe, warm, and comforted by that one strong hand.

"I. She," Lily heard. She recognized the voice. "Mulciber was sneering in joy. He wasn't running like Avery or Rosier. He was happy, pleased with himself. Then I saw her… I saw her on the ground and I knew he… they had done something horrible to her. Then I got there and her nose was bended and bleeding. The right side of her face was swollen, I could hardly recognize her at first. She was bleeding from her arms and legs. But her… her arm." James, Lily thought. That's who was speaking. His voice was quivering, tight, and rough. James sniffled. She felt his body tug. He must have been wiping his nose with the back of his hand, something he did every cold season where he'd demand he wasn't sick.

Lily felt his hand tug and she gripped it tight. There was the sound of a chair creaking, then she felt a warm presence over her. "What about her arm, Potter?" McGonagall's strict, but pleading voice, asked.

"She." He sniffled again and Lily felt him turn away from her slightly. "It read mud-…" he stammered and took a deep breath. "Blood." There were a few moans amongst a group of people. Lily wondered how many people were there, because it wasn't just McGonagall. Dumbledore? Madam Nickel? Oh, please not her friends. By James' explanation she was worse for wear.

She felt James' presence again. She wanted to see his face. Her eyes blinked open to white bright light. Black tuffs of hair came into view first, then the edge of glasses, and finally his deep brown eyes. Lily cringed at the light, but instantly the pain in her eye released at the sight of James' face. She noticed someone sit down on the other side of her bed and her head slowly moved to look at them. Dumbledore's long silver hair and moon shaped glasses perked her interest.

"Do you remember what happened?" he calmly asked. Lily sighed and took a moment to think. She nodded her head and regaled the story of being ambushed by Lucius Malfoy and a few Slytherin boys on her way back from Care of Magical Creatures. The details were fuzzy, but Lily managed to tell the whole story.

After the story, McGonagall, Slughorn, Sprout, and Dumbledore bid her good health and left to talk things over. Madam Nickel assured Lily and James that her cuts would be healed within a few days as long as Essence of Dittany was used a few times a day, which she would handle. The imprint of Mudblood would also heal, but would take a few days longer as it was a more skilled spell.

"Thank you," Lily sighed. James watched her intensely as Madam Nickel left their side. Lily noticed he still griped her hand tightly, but she wasn't upset. She was thankful for the grounding to earth. "I'm fine, Potter," Lily finally said. James didn't stop staring.

"I," he stopped speaking. His face sagged in sadness. He bowed his head.

"Really. I'm achy, but the tea Madam Nickel gave me helped a lot." James nodded his head. Footsteps rang out and Lily looked over to see Dumbledore coming back.

"Mr. Potter," he greeted. "I would like to speak with you." James didn't look up from Lily and his hands.

"I'll speak with you when Lily's out of the hospital wing," James sternly answered. Dumbledore was not fazed by the harshness of James' voice.

"Let's meet after dinner. Miss Evans won't be leaving for another day at least. You can't be by her bedside for the whole time." James' eyes seemed to fall at the thought of leaving Lily.

"Oh, do I have to?" Lily asked. "I feel fine already." Dumbledore's eyes darkened.

"You will be staying!" Madam Nickel shouted from her office.

"Please, I'm 17 in a few months. I should be able to make this decision."

"In a few months are the key words, Miss Evans. For now you are still underage and you will not be endangering yourself on our hands," Dumbledore declared. "Mr. Potter, I will meet you in my office after dinner. I think I'll have a few _sweet toffies_ for your visit." James nodded in understanding.

"Is Professor McGonagall there?" Lily asked. Dumbledore left without another word, but Professor McGonagall was back at their side within a few minutes. "I was told I must stay."

"Yes." McGonagall nodded her head.

"But as you know I'm prone to escaping when I don't want to be here." Lily got an evil glint in her eye. McGonagall's face fell.

"Miss Evans, I expect you to stay put."

"And I will. As long as I have company during all classes tomorrow." James' eyes widened at this blatant manipulation by Lily. McGonagall got a glimmer in her eye.

"I will see to it." She walked away briskly. Lily smiled at a dumbfounded James.

"Did you just…" He blinked. "Manipulate Professor McGonagall?" He looked at Lily with shock and seriousness. Lily looked at him innocently before an evil grin spread across her face. "Evans," he exclaimed.

"Please, like you bother to follow the rules." James broke out into a chuckle at her ease with breaking the rules. He felt the urge to smack his lips against hers, but he refrained. That twinkle in her eye and easy smile showed him she was busy flirting. James felt lighter despite the ordeal going on. She would come around to the idea of him, he told himself.

"I don't manipulate teachers, Evans." James raised an eyebrow. Lily shrugged like she didn't care one bit. James smiled.

Within thirty minutes, Marlene, Mary, Dorcas, and Alice were sitting around Lily's hospital bed. They were rather quiet until Mary noticed James' hand tightly wrapped around Lily's. Then she whispered in Marlene's ear, who coughed it to Dorcas, who blurted in a poor whisper to Alice, "Lily's holding James' hand." Lily's hand slowly edged out of James. James looked at Lily with wide eyes but let it happen. He sent a glower over at Dorcas. Madam Nickel came over holding two bottles.

"I need two volunteers," she announced. "One to give Miss Evan her pain relieving potion and another to put the dittany on her wounds. I would do it myself but last time she almost bit my head off. When I have volunteers at the ready, I use them. So who will it be?"

"Dorcas and Alice," Lily answered. Dorcas and Alice looked at her in surprise. "I can call you mean names." Lily winked. Dorcas took the potion bottle and handed it to Lily. "Be prepared," Lily warned. Dorcas rolled her eyes and tipped the bottle up so Lily could drink it.

"See not so bad," Dorcas said. Lily pushed Dorcas' hand away.

"Fucking bitch," Lily spit out. James chuckled. Dorcas rolled her eyes and motioned to get Lily to drink more. Lily gripped Dorcas' wrist and downed the rest of the potion with her face squeezed extra tight.

"Shit, Lily, ow!" Dorcas tried to pull Lily's hand off her wrist. Lily swallowed the last of the potion and released Dorcas. "What the hell?" Dorcas looked at her bruised wrist.

"Told you it'd be bad." Lily wiped her mouth. She stuck out her tongue. "Fucking terrible."

"I feel like it could be much worse," James said shrugging his shoulders.

"It's like a cunt-sucking cockroach that butt fucked a sewer rat before being covered with stripper glitter, dunked in dog shit, and deep fried in grease made from a skunk's arse." It only took a second for James to process what she said before keeling over in laugher. Mary, Marlene, and Alice joined in.

"That was impressive," Dorcas said. Lily smirked a little.

"A…" James gasped in laughter. "A cunt-sucking cockroach." His eyes wrinkled and his face hurt from smiling.

"That butt fucked a sewer rat," Alice added in similar pains. Mary raised her hand before dropping it to clutch her stomach.

"Then was covered in stripper glitter and… and dunked in dog shit!" Mary sucked in air. Marlene yelped at what Mary said.

"Then deep fried in grease made from a… a skunk's arse!" Marlene screeched in laughter. Lily now had a proud grin on her face.

"Wonder what you'll do about the dittany," Alice murmured as she walked over with the bottle at the ready. Lily shot a look at James and he turned his face away. She lifted her skirt up slightly. Alice poured droplets onto the wounds on Lily's upper thighs. Lily cringed and whined but was rather quiet. She replaced her skirt. Marlene tapped James' shoulder and he turned back around. He reached for her hand and she took it without another word.

Alice poured droplets onto the slashes along Lily's biceps. Lily whimpered and gripped James' hand like a lifeline. Marlene, Mary, and Dorcas cringed, but Alice was steady and focused. Lily bit her lip. Alice turned to put the bottle back but James stopped her.

"Don't forget her forearm, Alice," he softly said. Alice looked and noticed the brandishing. They all cringed. Alice was quick, but this one seemed to hurt Lily worse. She even turned into James and rested her head on his shoulder. He scooted forward in his chair and tried to be as comfortable as possible. Mary took Marlene's hand and squeezed it. Dorcas took deep breaths.

"I'm sorry," Alice whispered as she finished the droplets. Lily whimpered what seemed like its fine. Alice backed away and handed the Essence of Dittany to Madam Nickel. Lily pulled herself off of James and blinked. There was an awkward silence. James held her hand tightly when she rested her head against her pillow and closed her eyes.

"Evans!" Three rambunctious boys came running into the hospital wing carrying loads of sweets. Lily opened her eyes, pulled her hand out of James', and turned just in time to see Sirius, Remus, and Peter shove their way through the small crowd Alice, Dorcas, Marlene, and Mary had made.

"We brought gifts!" Peter announced. They dumped chocolate frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Jelly Beans, acid pops, sugar quills, liquorrice wands, Tooth-Splintering strongmints, and pumpkin pasties on the foot of Lily's bed.

"I made sure to get extra sugar quills, strong mints, and liquorrice wands because I know they're your favorite." Remus grinned. Sirius winked at her. Lily smiled.

"Thanks."

"Okay, okay, kids," Madam Nickel announced. "It's time for dinner. Get going." She pointed to the clock. "You won't be allowed in after dinner. Say your goodbyes now." Madam Nickel left. Dorcas gave Lily a hug. Alice kissed her good cheek. Remus, Sirius, and Peter waved. Mary squeezed her hand. Marlene brushed a hand through her hair and whispered goodbye and to sleep tight. James waited until the rest of them were crowded around the door waiting for him. He stood up out of his chair and leaned over Lily.

"Don't," Lily whispered. James stared her straight in the eye.

"Not what you think, Lil. Just… let me…" He pressed his forehead against hers. "Let the pain ease away, ease away, ease away," he sang while slowly motioning his hands down her body without touching her. "Let the pain ease away, ease away, ease away. In the morning, when the light first breaks, I'll see you again and everything will be alright," he sang softly.

He pulled away and smiled shyly at her. Lily gave him a look full of questions. He shoved his hands into his pockets. "Whenever…" he sighed. "Whenever I'm hurt my Mum. Instead of a kiss, she'd sing that song and wave her arms around my wound. It's a silly thing, but it always helped." He shrugged. Lily smiled.

"Thank you, Potter." James nodded and swiftly pivoted on his foot before he walked with a slight run to the group. They asked what that was and he explain.

The next morning they all came back before breakfast. Sirius first, followed by a wet James who carried hair gel, Alice and Dorcas came down with hair ties and pins to do Lily's hair, Peter came down with a very solemn face, Marlene and Mary came down with books, and finally Remus showed up with his hair stuck up in all directions. He quickly grabbed James' gel and used it.

"What? And here you were complaining about me stealing your gel," James said with a chuckle. Remus grumbled something. "What? Hello?" James tapped Remus' head.

"You took _mine_ , idiot," Remus said as he shoved James in the shoulder. James looked down then sighed and handed it to Remus. Lily giggled. "It's time for class." Remus looked to the clock.

"We'll be back soon." Alice kissed Lily's cheek. Dorcas patted her foot. Mary gave her a gentle hug. Marlene squeezed her hand. Sirius gave her a fist bump after being denied a high five much to Remus and James' amusement.

"I covered you for rounds, I'll continue to do it until you force me to stop," Remus said as he smiled and waved.

"Do you need me to take notes?" Peter asked.

"I've got it covered, Wormy," James said. Peter nodded. James waited until Peter was out the door before he turned to Lily. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine, Potter." Lily waved, but James stared at her intensely.

"I saw you, Lily. You can't lie. I saw you before Madam Nickel worked on you. I carried you in my arms. You were unconscious. You were bleeding." James ran his hands through his hair before letting his elbows hit her bed and his head fall into his hands. "You wouldn't wake up. I could barely recognize half your face." James voice got rougher and rougher.

"James," Lily whispered. James sniffled and groaned. He wiped his face with his hands. Lily looked him in the eye. "Thank you, for saving me. I mean that. You've saved me a lot lately. I don't think I will ever be able to catch up-."

"I don't want you to ever have to catch up to me, Lily. I'll always save you."

Lily looked down at her hands and weakly said, "Thank you. But really, I'm fine. I feel much better now and I'll be okay. It'll happen my whole life, I think."

"Hopefully not," James quickly cut in. "I know the war will be hard, but after… after you'll be safe and happy." He wanted to add in my arms but he stopped.

"Hopefully not my whole life, you're right." Lily smiled tightly. "But for now, this will be my life. I'll need to learn to duel better."

"Join the duel club." Lily nodded. "Or I can practice duel with you. I'm a good dueler, come to think of it I could use the practice." Lily placed a hand over his to stop him. James looked up at her with concerned eyes.

"I'll come to you if I need it, once I'm better." James nodded.

The bell sounded, and Dirk Cresswell walked through the hospital doors. He looked around and spotted Lily and took a pause. Lily waved, another muggle-born. He was a seventh year Hufflepuff, a chaser on the Quidditch team. He walked over slowly and sat down next to Lily.

"How are you?" Lily asked. Dirk looked grim and pale.

"Good. My wounds healed within four days. I. The past week and a half have been… rough." Lily nodded.

"I. I have a question for you." She rubbed her arm.

"Yes. Like I said the wounds healed within four days and I mean. I walk around with someone at all times now, but… in hindsight I should have been doing that already."

"Yeah. I should have too." Lily looked down. "But… did. Was Lucius Malfoy there? When you were attacked?" Dirk knitted his brow.

"No. No it was just Mulciber, Snape, Rosier, and Avery." Lily looked up at the mention of Snape but she wasn't surprised. "Lily," Dirk seemed like he wanted to tell her something important.

"Yeah?"

"Do your parents know about the wizarding war going on? Because mine don't and when Dumbledore sent a letter home telling them I was in the hospital wing, they wanted to know everything from me. I. I've mentioned what happened but… I wanted to know what your parents know. What do you tell them?"

Lily thought about this for a minute before answering truthfully. "They know about the war, they don't understand it. I try to explain it as best I can, but they can't comprehend that we don't use guns or swords. They understand wands but dark magic, for them is hard to comprehend. It doesn't help that I don't go into details of dark magic. I. I don't want them to know, but I think they have the right to know."

"Do they… do they want you to leave? My parents mentioned that if Hogwarts was dangerous I shouldn't be going." Dirk wrenched his hands together and stared at the floor.

"They've told me that if at any time I feel unsafe or uncomfortable I would be sent home, or rather I could come home. I didn't mention the war until last year when I had a nasty spell with a friend."

"Snape?" Lily nodded.

"My Mum wanted to know what the word he used meant so I explained everything to her. Then my Dad wanted to know how a wizarding war is different than a muggle war." Lily trailed off. "I think if I had told them right when I found out about it, they would have sent me home because I was so young. But now. Well. They said if Hogwarts was dangerous I should be home, but I demanded to stay. I explained that we have Dumbledore, the most powerful wizard with us and that there are protective spells on Hogwarts."

"So. How did you tell them? I have to do it in a letter. Will you? I know you're hurt and we can wait until you're healed, but will you help me write the letter?"

"Of course, I'd be happy to. It was a hard conversation, but hopefully they'll respond quickly and they'll understand. You have to mention that you are a wizard, this is your war, and you can't stop that. You'll always be a wizard no matter if you finish you N.E.W.T.s or O.W.L.s or graduate Hogwarts." Dirk nodded.

"Thanks, Lily. I feel bad I'm asking you for something while you're wounded."

"No. It's fine. It will give me something to focus on while I'm in bed." They started on the letter.

After Dirk left with a finished letter, James came in. "I'm skipping Transfiguration on McGonagall's word, so don't be mad." Lily nodded and he sat down next to her. "I was wondering what would cheer you up, and I figured I could do something my Dad always did when I was down or hurt." James grinned and pulled out his wand. He held it in front of her and blue smoke came out of it.

Lily hummed as she watched him. "Non-verbal spell," she murmured. James smiled and winked at her. "How did you manage that so well?"

James started moving his wand like he was drawing and said, "It's part of becoming an animagus. I'll explain it all one day." Lily nodded.

"You could do it now. We have time." James shook his head then pointed his eyes to the few ill students watching the smoke come out of his wand. "You know I'm not three, this is rather boring for me." She pointed to the blue smoke. James shrugged but continued moving his wand until she noticed a stag appear.

"Tada!" James happy cheered. Lily laughed.

"I feel part of the group now that I know your secret. I know all the inside jokes." James nodded. "Sorry, you had to tell me."

"I would have told you eventually." Lily frowned. James paused realizing he spilled a little secret, but he shrugged to cover it. "Or Sirius would have. You're… you're friends with all of us and we tell our friends our secrets." Lily creased her brow.

"But no one else knows about your secret." James nodded.

"Yeah, but maybe one day they'll know. You were just the first. The things we have to take into consideration like when the right moment would be, if we can trust them to not turn us in, if we tell them about Remus or not, and things like that. It would be one thing to spill Sirius, Peter, and my secret. We could always say we just wanted to do it, but Remus' is very." James sighed deeply. "Political and it can get ugly quickly." After that they talked about Potions and Transfiguration. James gave her the Potions notes he took and they went over their project.

After James, Marlene came in and only talked about Quidditch, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and boys. Mary worried about Lily's wounds and asked her many times how she was feeling. Dorcas and Alice visited in a pair right before dinner. They gave Lily her tea and put dittany on her wounds, Dorcas holding Lily's hand. They talked a little about school and the funny things Lily missed before they left for dinner. After dinner, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and James came in under the invisibility cloak. Lily gasped when she felt a hand cover her mouth. Then the boys were there and she took a deep breath. They ate half of her sweets they had brought earlier. Lily fell asleep aching, but happy that she had good friends.

…

 **Thank you for reading and sticking with this story. Thank you for reviewing, favoriting, following, and reading!**


	20. Chapter 20

…

Quidditch Initiation

…

"You sure you don't want to go to the first Quidditch practice?" Mary asked. Lily sat down by their favorite tree next to the Black Lake.

"I'm sure. Everyone just asks me how I'm doing and I just need to get away from that big crowd." Lily pulled out a book. Mary sat down with her.

"Are you feeling okay?" Mary quietly asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." Lily huffed and flipped through her book. They read for an hour or so until the sun started to set over the lake. That was when they heard the shouts. "What the hell?" Lily asked turning her head.

There came the Gryffindor Quidditch team running for the dock of the lake. James Potter leading with a terrified Anthony Dodgers the new fourth year beater on his arm. Marlene was right behind him dragging along Olivia Tate, the third year, second year running, seeker and Tina Fellows, the new fifth year chaser. Lloyd Bottmann, the second year running fifth year beater, and Quentin Charles, the third year running seventh year keeper, howled after them.

At the end of the dock, James released Anthony. James tore off his shirt, dropped his glasses on top of his shirt, and then kicked his shoes off. One went flying into the lake but he didn't seem to mind. Lloyd also tore his shirt off but he managed to slide his shoes off smoothly. Quentin just went straight in fully dressed.

"Come on! The water's freezing!" He laughed loudly and threw his head back treading water. He reached for James' lost shoe and threw it onto the dock. James took one look at Marlene who was slowly taking her shoes and socks off, wrapped his arms around her, and dove straight into the lake.

"Fuck! Potter!" she shouted before they hit the water. When they surfaced, she pushed him under and shouted, "I fucking hate you, you wanker." James laughed between being drowned. Olivia and Tina had made the smart choice to wear swimsuits under their uniforms. They stripped down then cannonballed in.

Lloyd yelled, "Quidditch Team!" and jumped in feet first. Anthony however stood on the dock watching them shivering in the water.

"I'm not a strong swimmer, guys," he said.

"Come on!" Lloyd shouted.

"Don't be a wimp!" Marlene called. James swam over to the dock behind Anthony.

"I'm not a strong swimmer!" Anthony shouted.

"Come on!" Lloyd and Marlene shouted. They catcalled Anthony as James rose out of the water and onto the dock. James grinned then shoved Anthony into the lake.

"Wha-ahh!" Anthony shouted. He belly flopped into the lake. Everyone recoiled. James waited until Anthony surfaced and started doggy paddling. James gathered up the clothing and placed it on the dock closer to the beach. Then James slowly walked back to the edge, turned around, placed his toes on the edge of the dock, and back flipped in.

"He's flipping again?" Mary asked.

"He said he got back into it during the summer," Lily murmured as she looked back down to her book.

"When did you learn this?" Mary asked.

"At Slughorn's party." Lily looked up at the scene again. James was getting back up onto the dock. He did a front flip in.

He got out again and announced, "Things are gonna get trickier!" He chuckled at his pun. He did a b-twist into the water. The team roared cheers at him. He grinned and got up again then did a side summy in. The team roared again, Mary clapped for him. Lily rolled her eyes. He got up grinning proudly again. He took a few steps down the dock, did a round off before flying off the dock into a full twist. He landed on his butt in the water. He chuckled as he surfaced.

"Should I do another?" he asked his crowd.

"Another, another, another," they chanted. Lily rolled her eyes again. James pleased the crowd and got out of the water. He did the same thing of walking down the dock again, but this time he just ran toward the water before he managed a pike front. "Another, another, another!" His team chanted when he surfaced. He climbed onto the dock and did a side flip off.

"Another, another!" He pulled himself up and did a corkscrew off the end of the dock. "Another, another!" James surface and looked at them with wonder.

"I've got three more tricks left," he announced as he pushed up on the dock. He took a few deep breaths before doing a 720 front twist in. He surfaced to cheers again and pushed himself out of the lake. He bent his knees a few times before doing a reverse back 360. He pulled himself out again and went off the dock with a back pike. He pulled himself out one last time, walked down the dock, ran down the dock, and completed a front layout.

"Do another one where you twisted like five time in a row," Lloyd said. James was breathing deeply in the water. He nodded his head, took a deep breath, and pushed himself off the dock. He paused when he stood.

"A corkscrew or a b-twist?" he asked. Everyone was thoroughly confused.

"Um… the one where you twisted around like this." Lloyd circled his arms in front of him then turned in the water rapidly.

"I'm just going to guess you're talking about a corkscrew." James stepped forward to get to the edge of the dock and slipped doing a split with one foot falling into the water. His face turned into an o and his held his crotch. After rebounding from shock, people started to laugh.

"That's what he gets for being a show off," Lily murmured. Mary gasped at her.

"Lily, he was having fun. It was cool to watch. He wasn't showing off he was just… showing skills." Lily stared at her like she just repeated what Lily said. "He obviously worked really hard to be able to do those things. It's okay to want to show people things and not want to keep it secret. And besides everyone asked to see what he could do." Mary crossed her arms over her chest. Lily flicked her hair and went back to her book.

A few minutes later Marlene was wading out of the Black Lake onto the shore next to him. Lily looked up at the sound of water splashing. She noticed Anthony was on the dock holding his knees to his chest, Tina and Oliva were picking up their clothes, Lloyd and Quentin were having a water fight, and James was backstroking a few meters away from them. Marlene grasped Lily's attention by flicking water at her and laughing.

She sat down between them. They both reached their wands out and started drying Marlene off. Marlene asked Mary why they weren't at practice and Lily took the opportunity to watch the boys in the water. James usually was a rough houser but he seemed to be chilling in the water. Quentin got punched in the eye by Lloyd' hand by accident and they both got out of the water, Lloyd apologizing, and Quentin saying he needed ice from Madam Nickel.

James stayed in the water for a few minutes before swimming over to the dock and pulling himself out. Lily's eyes were attached to him. She tilted her head as she watched the water roll of his muscles. They weren't bulky they were notable but not under clothing. When he was dressed, he looked like a stick. James flicked his hair out of his face, grabbed his shoes, glasses, and shirt, and walked off the dock. Mary and Marlene both let out sighs and murmured, "Now that's a body."

Then James started walking over to them. Marlene quickly picked up a book and riffled through it while Mary's attention was suddenly focused completely on her book, but Lily watched James.

"Lily, sod off," Marlene murmured.

"Really, Lily," Mary warned. But Lily just covered her hand over her eyes to shield the setting sun and watched James come to them. James grinned cheekily at her, threw his shirt on, and sat down next to her sopping wet.

"Why weren't you at practice?" he asked lightly messing with his glasses in his hands.

"I didn't feel like seeing your ego being stroked for two hours," came Lily's snarky reply. James fake laughed. He looked over to Mary and Marlene then really laughed. He picked up the book Marlene was holding and turned it right side up. Marlene flushed red and looked away.

"Potter," Lily asked narrowing her eyes. "How did the lake initiation come about? Or is it tradition? I've heard it both ways." Lily crossed her arms over her chest and stared at his face.

"Well in second year, when I made the team. I was walking around the lake and some idiot, older Slytherins dragged me to the dock and threw me into the water. The team was really nice about it and supported me. After our first practice, they all ran to the lake and jumped in right in front of the Slytherins. Then it sort of became a tradition every year. Sort of showing everyone we stick together, we'll help each other out." He smiled fondly of the memory.

"What did you do to irritate the Slytherins, because knowing you, you had to do something." Lily chuckled lightly. James' face twisted in confusion and sadness.

"I did nothing. I was put on the team really young. That was it." James shrugged. Lily felt a wrench in her gut.

"Oh… well…" She flicked a leaf off her skirt. "How's, how's the speed bag going? I heard you talking about it with Sirius."

"Oh. The speed bag." James chuckled a little. "It's going well. Love it, really. Boxing was a lot of fun over the summer. Thank you for taking us to that movie. Boxing is… it's thrilling like Quidditch, not as much and different but. I don't know. It's. Getting punched in the face isn't fun but it brings out this…" He motioned to his chest. "This…"

"Feeling?" James shook his head. "Instinct?" Lily guessed with a cringe. James nodded quickly.

"It brings out this instinct to fight back. But… and this is the best part… when you fight back, no one gets hurt! Not really." James grinned.

"So how did that work?" Marlene asked.

"How did what work?" James asked.

"Boxing during the summer? Isn't it a muggle thing?"

"Oh, yeah." James nodded and swallowed. "It's a muggle sport. I went into the local muggle town and they have a boxing ring or club or whatever you call it."

"Center," Lily gave.

"They have a boxing center there. I went in the day after I saw the movie and asked for boxing lessons. Sirius had already gone home, so I went alone. They were really nice. They set me up with a trainer. The trainer wouldn't let me do anything with the gloves first. He made me jump rope, do pullups, pushups, sit ups, all my normal workout routines. Then he had me do a punch to the air." James smiled. "When I asked when I could punch things, he sat me down and told me this wasn't about punching things, not really. It was about reflexes and figuring out your body and finding your strength. The bonus part was getting to hit things." He dazzled a grin to the girls.

"So how long did you box for?" Mary asked.

"The rest of the summer. I went every afternoon. So for like six weeks. Sirius came back two… three weeks later. He joined me and my trainer kind of let me do the skills he taught me against a bag while he trained Sirius."

"What did training consist of?"

"Well you hit a punching bag and you have to duck and act like it's a real opponent. Then you have the speed bag, what we have in our dorm. You're just practicing your reflexes and punches on that, getting a rhythm to your punches. You shadow box, which is where you box against nothing. He made me run a lot of laps, shadow boxing while I ran. You jump rope. You shadow box with these stretchy things attached to your gloves so it puts tension on you and you punch harder when they're gone. I had to learn how to punch correctly, because apparently I've been doing it wrong all this time." James laughed, his eyes glimmered. Lily found a smile appearing on her own face watching him talk about something he loved.

"We did slow sparring, which is exactly what you think it is. A slower form of boxing. I had to run sprints through ladders. I had to work on my footwork which when I'm not shadow boxing makes me look like I'm dancing." He chuckled a little. "I sparred with someone once a week. I won twice against Sirius, we sparred three times. He won the second time so our third one was a rubber match. I had to focus a lot on my core strength which is what I do for Quidditch already." James shrugged.

"How many times a day do you use your speed bag to get your… irritations out?" Lily tilted her head thinking of how he hadn't really hexed many people this year, yet. She noticed Mary and Marlene shoot an interested look at her, but she shook her head at them. A light shade of pink flushed over James' cheeks.

"Um…" He chuckled. "Every time we're not in class." He looked down at his fingers.

"Ah… I was wondering why you hadn't hexed more than two people this year." James scratched behind his head and whipped water on Lily.

"Yeah, well. Boxing helped with that. Sirius and I brought our gloves with us. We've sparred ten times since the start of school. Remus has started the bag and Peter's even done it a few times. He can't get into a rhythm though. He doesn't like the idea of someone getting hurt. But he's making progress in the exercise realm. I got him to do a few pushups and mountain climbers this morning again. He can't do so many, but he's making progress."

"Who told you about all your work out methods?" Marlene asked. "The other day at Hagrid's, you talked about all these exercises. Who told you?"

"Um…" James thought for a moment. "When I turned twelve and complained to my Dad that I wasn't getting any muscles yet. I was still a string bean. Dad said if I started building them then, I'd have them when I was older. So he went out and got me this book. That's where I learned the exercises from. It's this old book that he got at some second hand bookstore."

"A second hand book store!" Lily gasped. "For the rich and famous Fleamont Potter." James rolled his eyes but Marlene and Mary laughed.

"Yeah, yeah. A second hand book store. He figured if someone used it, it would be better than some new book no one's tried before."

"Where did you learn all those flips and twists," Mary asked.

"Well…" James sighed and stared intently at the lake. "I learned how to back flip and front flip on the bouncy floors my Dad would create. I did that on my own. But… with the b-twist, front pike, round offs, corkscrews, side summy, front twist, reverse back twist, back pike, full twist, and front layout and," he sighed. "Many others. Well… I learned the side summy, front layout, back pike, full twist and a few others this summer. I was busy this summer. This was before I started boxing, but my trainer said that my gymnastics," he used quoted fingers on gymnastics. "Helped my boxing because I was getting exercise. I only really told him about… well I showed him a few things. You know I can do all those things on a flat floor."

"Yeah, yeah, we know you're very talented," Lily grumbled. James frowned at her.

"I worked really hard to get all those tricks down."

"But how did you learn?" Mary asked again.

"Oh. I learned from a martial arts book. A lot of trial and error on bouncy floors then on flat floors. My arse was bruised for a long time." He chuckled. "I also went to one of these muggle gyms where they practiced um… gymnastics. All these people were tricking too and they taught me how to do a few new things. They taught me how to do combos, which is where you-."

"Combine two tricks," Lily said flatly. James nodded excitedly.

"Yeah. And this gym had bouncy floors and these pits with foam things in them, and mats that were soft. It was the perfect place. For the first three weeks of summer, I… well not three weeks. Two and a half weeks. It took me a while. I was flying around on my broom and noticed a few people tricking outside this building and so I landed and said I could do that too and they said they wanted to practice on concrete and then they showed me the gym. So I went there every day. Then after boxing, I wanted to do tricking more. I went in the morning once or twice before Sirius came. Sirius can do a front flip but he has to have something bouncy under him or something soft like water to land in. He was working on a backflip when Lily gave us her owl."

"What happened exactly? I never got the full story," Mary said.

"Well, my Dad showed her Mum some magic. We visited my house and Remus' house. We went to the movies. We played some football?"

"Football." Lily nodded. "Then they went home."

"No." James shook his head. Lily frowned at him. "We had tea with your Mum first." Lily sighed and nodded.

"This lasted all day?"

"Yeah." James smiled. "A movie's like two hours long. When Sirius told me that I thought we were going to be soo bored for two hours, but it went by just like that." He snapped his fingers. Lily laughed at him. "What?" he asked.

"Just… pureblood mindset." She shook her head. "I feel like you guys know so little about the world outside of the magical world. I know both so well."

"Not true!" James defended. "You had no idea what floo powder was."

"Okay. I don't know _all_ things about the magical world, but I know a lot. You on the other had didn't know what telly was, movies, you didn't really know fizzy drinks, you don't know football, basketball, cricket, tennis, and so many more sports."

"Well. We took Muggle Studies," Marlene defended.

"That class was pointless! It talked about electricity, motor vehicles, and objects like gas burning fires or musical instruments. It didn't tell you the important stuff. In Muggle Music we learn more about classical music than the stuff of today."

"We know Muggle music!" Mary defended.

"Because I taught you! If it wasn't for me, you'd know next to knowing about Muggles." They were all silently.

"Thanks, Lily," Mary quietly said.

"Oh. I didn't. I wasn't looking for an apology."

"Yes, you were," James slung at her. Lily shot him a glare. "Thank you." He looked to the lake. "Okay," he said standing. "I'm going to go into dinner." He stood, replaced his glasses, and jogged to the castle.

"We should get going," Lily sighed. Marlene and Mary dragged Lily into the castle. "I don't want to leave. The sunset is so beautiful."

"I want to eat!" Marlene whined. Mary laughed and helped drag Lily in. They sat on opposite ends than the Marauders as usual. Alice and Dorcas slid in next to them. They had started rotating between sitting next to the trio or next to the Marauders around third year. Rarely did all nine of them sit together, but it was usually full of rebukes and mini fights when they did.

…


	21. Chapter 21

…

Hogesmeade and B-boying

…

Sirius was busy chomping on a pancake when Lily came down. She dropped a crossword book down beside her and picked up a waffle and syrup. Sirius chewed and looked at Lily like he wanted to ask her something. Lily raised her brow. He held up a finger. He opened his mouth but then closed it and resumed eating.

"For Merlin's sake, Sirius, what is it?" Lily exclaimed.

Sirius smirked, covered his mouth and said, "Want to go to Hogesmeade with us?" Lily furrowed her brow. "Like, your group. Want your group to go to Hogesmeade with us? Dorcas and Alice are coming." He shrugged. "Figured might as well ask the three amigos." He grinned.

"I'll have to ask the rest of the amigos." Lily smiled and ate her waffle. Sirius nodded and went back to his waffle. A few minutes later, James rushed down with wet flat hair. He slid on the bench until Lily stopped him with a hand before he could slam into her. James grunted.

"Ask her?" he asked excitedly. Sirius nodded.

"Said she had to ask the rest of the amigos." He raised his brow and grinned at his best mate. James smiled back.

"Already done," he sang. "They said it would be lovely." He turned to Lily, with his elbow rested on the table.

"Settled then," Lily replied. James picked up a bowl of fruit and started to eat without another word. "You're down early," she said trying to make conversation.

"He was a bucket of nerves all night. Asked me personally to ask you, because you'll say no to him. Won't believe Remus is talking for the rest of the Marauders and Peter can't ask a girl anything without being a bucket of nerves himself."

"It's called a bundle, and I would have said yes if it was a question to the _group_." James didn't say anything he just watched his fruit. Sirius sniggered.

"Fine, he was a _bundle_ of nerves. But I do have a survey for you." He pulled out a piece of parchment out of nowhere. "Please, take it." He slid it across the table. Lily saw " _How well did this asking out go?_ " Lily pulled out a pen and Sirius gasped. "It's one of those things. James." He smacked James' fruit bowl with his fork. "James, it's one of those things." James looked over at Lily and noticed the pen in her hand.

"It's a pen, Sirius. Remember, she showed us them at her house." Sirius nodded excitedly.

"You brought some to Hogwarts?" Sirius asked.

"No. I didn't," Lily replied sarcastically. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Do you have extras?" he pressed on.

"Nope," she lied.

"Why don't you use them in class?"

"I do. You just sit in front of me." Sirius gasped.

"They don't take it away from you! Dumbledore!" Sirius waved his hand up at the teacher table. "This girl!"

"Woman," James interjected. Lily looked at him with wide eyes. He saw her staring at him and frowned at her. "Girl?" he asked. "I don't think you look six, you look like a woman." He puffed his chest and sat up straighter. Lily smiled but quickly covered it by quirking her mouth to the side.

"This!" Sirius sighed and sat back down. "I still think of her as a girl. What do you want to be called? Woman, girl? Teen? Human? Witch?"

"Um…" Lily felt heat rise in her cheeks. James had gone back to his fruit. "Witch is fine for now," Lily murmured. Sirius sucked in a breath and stood waving his hand again.

"Dumbledore!" He shouted, yet James and Lily noticed it was barely considered a shout. Especially since Sirius could really shout loud. "This witch has a _pen_. Isn't that forbidden?" No one came. Sirius sighed dramatically and dropped onto the table. "The unthinkable has happened."

"Sirius, can you pass the toast and jam?" James asked as if nothing was wrong. Sirius grunted and kept his face and chest firmly on the table as if he had died. Lily sighed and reached for what James wanted.

"Why is he so dramatic?" she asked.

"It's just a face he puts on for everyone. Kind of like your overly kind face." Lily frowned. "Okay, that's not to say you're not kind. It's to say you're not as kind as you'd like people to believe, just as Sirius isn't as dramatic as he'd like people to believe. I'm not as arrogant as I think people believe, though I've tried very hard to put on a cool person face because I'm really a…" He leaned in a little. "I'm a big nerd inside," he whispered. Lily raised her eyebrows. "Maybe one day you'll find the nerd." He shrugged.

"Well me being nice isn't a face," Lily defended. "It's just a side of me. If anything I try to be nerdier than I actually am. I'm…" She sighed and leaned in a little just as James had done. "I'm really a sports fanatic. I get thrills during any sport game. And I love doing anything athletic."

"Then why don't you? It's be lots of fun. I could have you as a backup for Quidditch. I'd have to see you fly-." Lily put a hand up.

"That's the whole point. If people know I love athletic things and sports, they would make me do those things. I… I can cheer for Quidditch because everyone does. But I can't play. I'm horrid on a broom and… I'm not as athletically inclined as I look," she whispered. James narrowed his eyes.

"Well then… one day maybe you'll see my nerd and I'll see your athletically inclined person." Lily opened her mouth. James raised a finger. "I'll figure a way to help you be as athletically inclined as you want to be." He then turned to his toast and started lathering it with jam.

"What were you whispering about?" Mary asked whispering herself and sitting down with a smile on.

"Nothing," they repeated in unison. Mary hummed, narrowed her eyes, but sat down on the other side of Lily.

"Okay, fine, don't share. But I have news." She grinned.

"What?" Lily asked turning away from James and putting her full attention on Mary. James tapped Sirius with his knife and spread red jam over Sirius' hand.

"Sirius!" James shouted. "You're bleeding." Sirius overreacted much to the amusement of several younger years, James, and a few Ravenclaws. Mary curled her finger toward her and Lily leaned forward.

"I just got asked to go to Hogesmeade, with a boy." Mary giggled but covered her mouth knowing how Lily hated it when girls made a big deal of being asked out.

"Oh, so you're not coming with us?" Lily asked quietly. Mary shook her head and giggled a little more. Lily furrowed her brow. Mary sucked in a deep breath.

"Okay, okay." She took another deep breath. "Well, it was a double ask out kind of thing. First a second year asked me out. Really cute little boy. He must have been dared." Mary smiled. "But then _another_ second year asked me out. He had flowers, and he'd written a poem. Mary, you're so sweet. Mary, this may be the first time we meet. But would you maybe go eat some meat … with me?" Mary laughed loudly.

"Oh, that's sweet," Lily said sadly. Mary frowned a little.

"I had to say no. I mean, I had to. But it was sweet and I had to tell you. Marlene would have said I should go on the date as a joke, but the poor kid." Mary hung her head a little. "I couldn't tell if he really had a crush on me or not."

"Which one is he?" Lily looked around toward the second year end of the table.

"He's got a blonde curls and he's." Mary craned her neck and looked toward the second years. "He's the one giving flowers to a girl his own age."

"Hello," Peter called sitting down next to Sirius who had just fake passed out. James looked over to see if the girls were occupied and spotted them looking at second years.

"Pete," James whispered across the table.

"Yep?"

"Should I show off some tricks this afternoon?" Peter frowned. "You know… flipping stuff? I tried out a new one the other day behind Hagrid's after I visited him. I landed it. I've got two other ones I really want to show someone. Hagrid always says they're great even when I land on my arse."

"Yeah. That'd be fun."

"Do you think it'd be bragging?" James asked.

Remus clumped down next to him. "If you're doing it, it might be bragging," he answered. James frowned at him.

"But he just wants to flip around," Peter defended.

"Is that bragging?" James asked.

"Just. I don't know. Why do you need permission to flip around?" Remus groaned and stuffed a few hash browns in his face. He made a face of disgust then found ketchup. He dipped more hash browns in it then stuffed them in his face. He sighed happily.

"I. I don't want to look like a prat."

"Just ask us our opinion on your tricks," Remus suggested.

"Tricks?" Lily asked turning around to face them.

"Yeah, um…" James stumbled.

"He's asking if he can do a few flipping tricks at Hogesmeade. He doesn't want to make a fool of himself," Sirius said apparently having made a full recovery. James shot him a glare.

"Oh. Like show them off?" Mary asked excitedly.

"Um… well." James scratched the back of his head. "I've landed a few new ones and it'd really mean a lot if I could show people. Because… Hagrid he's the only one that really sees me doing these martial arts gymnastic moves. And. I don't know. He thinks everything is wonderful even when I don't land it."

"Why do you do it at Hagrid's?" Lily asked.

"Well…"

"Only place people won't make him feel self-conscious about his efforts at trying something he's not amazing at," Remus informed. Mary and Lily ahhed then smirked a little.

"No. It's because he has all these mats that are a little bouncy and soft that I use to land on. He says he uses them for his creatures, but I don't really see how… but that doesn't really matter," James said.

"Plus the self-conscious thing," Remus added with a smirk. James blushed a little.

"You want to see if you're really as good as Hagrid says you are?" Lily asked. James tilted his head back and forth, but ultimately nodded.

"Then bring it on," Mary encouraged.

"What are the names?" Peter asked. "The names are always the best." He grinned to the girls.

"Well I landed the Axe2Aerial the other day. It's like an Aerial but with an Axe kick upward added to it. Have you seen my aerial? It's gotten much better." James bounced in his seat. "I haven't shown you my Au-Batido since like first year. It's like a handstand. What about a barani?"

They all shook their heads. James gasped.

"It's a round off without using my hands." He held his head in his hands. "I've forgotten, none of you have seen _anything_. All you've seen is the stuff I did on the dock and the few front, back, and side flips plus a front pike, a back pike, two back layouts, one busted aerial, and a busted aeriola from like first to third year." He bounced in his seat again.

"You showed off without me!" Peter exclaimed.

"Yeah for Quidditch initiation. I did them off the dock."

"You don't need to show us those again," Lily said dully. "Just chose a few you really care about and show us those. Your newest."

"Okay, okay." He thought for a beat. "I'll do an Axe2Aerial, a back full which is a back flip with a 360 twist in it, spyder twist, I don't know how to explain that, and a moon kick which is a gainer but a little to the side and a kick is added. A gainer's like a back flip but you run into it. I've landed the axe to aerial four times, the back full twice, the spyder twist once, the moon kick three times." He grinned big.

"I know, none of us know what he's saying either," Peter said excitedly.

"No. No. I got most of that. I'll have to see it, but I got it," Lily said. James narrowed his eyes not quite believing her.

"Okay, okay, I'm here. What are we talking about?" Marlene asked coming to sit next to Sirius.

"Tricking," James answered excitedly.

"Oh, not another prank. I don't want to be in on that," Marlene whined.

"No," James said firmly. "Not tricks as in pranks but tricks as in martial arts tricks. It's called tricking."

"You're into martial arts?" Marlene dropped her brow and looked at him seriously.

"Yeah." James frowned. "What did you think I was doing off the dock the other day?"

"Um… I don't know flips? Gymnastics?"

"Well it's a bit of gymnastics too. Well you could count it half gymnastics half martial arts." James shook his hand in front of him to stop the beginnings of a ramble. "That's not important. I'm going to show you a few moves I've recently landed." He grinned again.

"Okay, we can go!" Alice said dragging Dorcas by the hand to them. "We ate with Frank's group. He and his friends are going to stay back and study. They don't want to go on the first trip. Say's it's too crowded." Alice rolled her eyes. "So we're _not_ doing that."

"Please, you just want to be able to tell him a new story. You've ran out of things to say to each other," Dorcas shot at her. Alice's smiling face dropped and she hit Dorcas in the arm.

"I want to spend time with _my_ friends, not his." Alice crossed her arms over her chest and raised her chin.

"Well lucky you, James will be performing," Marlene said. Alice and Dorcas looked to him. James ducked his head.

"What's wrong with your hair?" Alice asked. She pointed to where James' spikes usually were.

"I. I rushed downstairs and didn't run gel through it." He ran a nervous hand through it and it puffed back up.

"That's better. Before it was like sticking straight out like the lip of a hat."

"Oh. Yeah. That's the cowlicks." James ran his hand through his hair again making it stand a little more.

"It's good." Mary patted him on the back and got up. Lily, Remus, Sirius, Peter, and Marlene followed. James pulled out his two way mirror and looked at himself in it. Sirius stomped back and grabbed him by the shirt collar.

"Come on," Sirius said. James wrapped an arm around Sirius' waist and tried to lift him. "Ah! Stop!" James laughed and put him back on the ground. Sirius didn't chuckle as he normally would. James jogged up to the group. Sirius pouted for a minute before joining them. They had naturally split into their favorite sections of their big group.

"Are you nervous for your performance, Prongs?" Remus asked teasingly.

"I bet you're going to do great." Peter grinned at him. James nodded his head.

"Yeah, Prongs. Don't want to fall on your arse in front of Evans," Sirius teased. James shrugged.

"She'd find it funny, so doesn't really matter."

Meanwhile Mary was saying, "I hope James doesn't fall and break his arse." Lily laughed at the thought.

"He'd be out and I'd be subbing for captain." Marlene grinned.

Meanwhile Alice was looking back at the group she and Dorcas were leading. Dorcas said, "At least it's progress you know. Lily and James going to Hogesmeade together… in a group."

"A large group," Alice said.

"A large group, but a group, and to Hogesmeade." Dorcas nodded.

"One day, Dory, one day." Dorcas wrinkled her nose at the nickname. "Oh, you love it." Alice grinned. "Time to mix things up. You take the boys?"

"I always get the boys," Dorcas whined.

"Fine, fine. I'll take the boys. You take the girls."

"I feel like a mother."

"No." Alice raised a finger. "We're matchmakers." She smirked. Dorcas grinned with her. They high fived and then took their respective groups.

"Where we going?" Dorcas asked Marlene.

"I don't know? You just stopped leading us."

"Want to go to Zonkos?" Mary suggested.

"Yeah. That'd be fun."

"Ask the Marauders," Dorcas said as she waved her hands when she used their name. The girls chuckled.

Meanwhile Alice said, "Hey."

"We were most definitely not just talking about how much we love skirts," Sirius said blatantly. Alice blinked once.

"I love them too, for different reasons but also the same reasons… for Frank at least." She winked at him. Sirius clutched his heart.

"Padfoot, did you just flirt with another man's girl?" James asked teasingly. Sirius gasped and hid his face. Alice laughed.

"How dare you." Remus wagged his finger.

"Scoundrel," Peter said. Sirius started to chuckle. Then Lily turned and started to walk backward.

"Want to go to Zonkos?" she asked.

"Yeah!" the four of them cheered. Lily grinned pleased with herself as she turned around to continue walking. They walked for a while until James broke away from the middle of the pack and did a cartwheel, then looked like he was going to attempt another one but instead he flipped his body in the way you would do with a cartwheel but without his hands touching the ground, his hips sideways the same as a cartwheel. He stood up and grinned really big at the group.

"What was that?" Peter asked.

"A grandmaster swipe." He walked away with a little swagger in his walk. He started to lead the group to Zonkos.

"Such cool names," Peter whispered. Sirius rolled his eyes. He took the position James had left and did a cartwheel.

"Just as cool, Prongs!" Sirius shouted after him, but James didn't look back.

"Hey, Prongs!" Remus shouted. James flicked his head back but didn't stop walking. "You B-boy?" James turned a little red at this.

"How would he know about b-boying?" Lily asked.

"He went to a gymnastics gym that had like twelve b-boys there, and one other martial artist. Told me while he was tipsy. James must have picked up a few b-boy moves," Remus said. James started to walk faster, but Remus had gotten the groups' attention. They sped after him.

"What's b-boying?" Mary asked Marlene. Marlene shrugged. Remus smirked.

Lily joined Remus in his faster pace and asked, "How did you know about b-boying?"

"Stumbled upon it on a Muggle street when I was traveling with my Mum. She wanted to move past quickly, but I just had to ask what style dancing that was because I'd known a few of the moves they did from James. They started talking about how tricking is a part of b-boying or breakdancing or whatever and I mentioned James and they said he probably knew a few b-boy dance moves. They wanted his number, so I moved on, but… it was cool."

"I've seen kids do it on the street, but it's on the telly too. Came from the States and it's catching on fast." Remus raised his brow.

"When'd it start?"

"Just a few years ago, like six at most."

"When we started Hogwarts?"

"Yeah, probably. So would he know about it?" Lily asked nodding her head toward James.

"He definitely knows something, else he wouldn't be avoiding us." James ran into Zonkos. Lily laughed.

"I want to see him dance," she murmured. Remus grinned.

"Wonder if he's any good," Sirius said coming up on their speed.

"What's b-boying?" Mary asked tapping Sirius on the shoulder.

"Dancing that includes tricking. So basically what James just did but with dancing in it," Sirius answered. Mary quickly got the word out to Peter, Dorcas, Alice, and Marlene.

"I want to see him dance!" Peter exclaimed.

"Let's get him." Remus opened the door and they crowded in. James was in a far corner looking at nose-biting teacups. Remus grabbed him harshly by the jacket.

"Hey this is a new leather bomber jacket!" James exclaimed.

"And I'll treat it nicely if you just show us your b-boy tricks," Remus said. James looked at him thoroughly shocked.

"I'd expect this from Sirius, Remus, but you?" Remus rolled his eyes and started to drag James through the store.

"Hey! No!" James shouted. He started to pull things off the shelf and throw them at the group. Sirius caught a teacup but Peter was unlucky and one bit his nose. A dungbomb went off and everyone coughed.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" the manager shouted. "Pay for that!" Remus shoved James against the counter and James threw a few sickles at the manager. The manager took great offence at the way James threw the sickles. "Out! The lot of you!" He pointed to the door.

The group slowly made their way out of the shop, all of them groaning James' name. James still gripped by the jacket stumbled after them. He slapped Remus' hand away when they reached outside. Remus let him go but stared him down.

"You have skills, show them," he demanded. James brushed off his jacket.

"By the way, he copied my leather jacket," Sirius whispered to Marlene. Marlene rolled her eyes but chuckled a little.

"Yeah, you're is a biker jacket anyways. Plus his is grey," Marlene whispered back. Sirius grinned at her.

"Remus," James begged. "I'm not that good." Remus tilted his head and gave James a disbelieving look. James looked down for a second. "I need a beat."

"Lets go to the Three Broomsticks and ask Rosemerta to put on a tune."

"No!" James exclaimed putting a hand up to stop Remus from turning. "Just…" He took Remus by the arm and pulled him into an empty alley. He motioned for everyone to join. "Just… do this." He started thumping his foot on the ground then he covered his mouth and tried his best to beatbox. Remus followed and everyone started stomping their feet on the ground in a rhythm. He handed Sirius his jacket and glasses. "Okay." James took a few deep breaths.

He kicked his left foot out, then stepped his right foot all the way around so he was facing sideways, then he lifted his left foot and stepped backward, quickly. Then he kicked his right foot out, then stepped his left foot all the way around so he was facing sideways the opposite ways form before, and then he lifted his right foot and stepped backward, quickly. He did this several times getting a rhythm and lifting his hands up so they were close to his face.

Then he spread his legs, leaned forward, dipped down onto his back, spun on his back in a coin drop. He then raised onto his hands and started to swing his legs back and forth spinning them around him in a flare. He used one leg to raise himself then he did the first move again then he posed a little at the end. He looked up with a flushed face.

"Good," Lily said. But everyone else was speechless.

"That's b-boying?" someone asked.

"A bad version of it," James answered. He ran a hand through his hair.

"A good version, just… not a long one," Remus answered.

"Let's, just… let's go to the Three Broomsticks now." James pushed through the pack grabbing his jacket from Remus in the process and started for the bar.

…


	22. Chapter 22

…

Three Broomsticks and Tricking

…

James rather swiftly opened the doors. Rosemerta was behind the bar. "What can I get you?" she asked. James sat at the bar but noticed there wouldn't be enough seats.

"Do you have a table for…" he counted in his head. "Eight?"

"Yeah. Put two four seaters together," Rosemerta moved from behind the bar and shoved two empty four seater tables together.

"Great, thanks." James sighed. "Can you get me a butterbeer?" Rosemerta nodded and started on it. James sat down as the group entered. They joined him but he was one off. Sirius grabbed a chair off the end of another table and sat down beside him.

"Wasn't that bad, mate," he said. James shrugged. Sirius slid James' glasses across the table. James stowed them in his pocket planning ahead for his real performance.

"I don't like dancing in front of people," he grumbled. Sirius sighed.

"If it makes you feel better we were all impressed." James shrugged again. Sirius sighed and looked to Lily who was sitting across from James.

"I can dance for you, if you want me to," she suggested. James frowned. Lily stood and did a running man. James laughed a little. Lily grinned and sat back down. "Now I've embarrassed myself. So you shouldn't be embarrassed anymore." She kicked his foot. He kicked back. "Now, now, Potter. Are we starting a match?" James hummed with a grin on his face then nodded his head. Lily grunted and kicked his shin.

"Ow, shit, Evans." He held his leg. Lily arched an eyebrow. He growled a little and kicked her, but she had her feet up in his chair. "Cheat!" James pointed a finger at her. She shrugged and started talking with Marlene who was next to her.

"What the hell were you talking about?" Sirius asked.

"A game of footsy," James answered. Sirius sniggered. "Hey, she kicked me straight in the shin," James defended. Sirius shook his head.

"So… I've been researching motorcycles in the Muggle Section of the library," Sirius said. James gasped.

"You've been to the library, Pads?" He clutched his chest. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"But all I've found was books on bicycles and those are so boring. Hey, Lily-Billy." Sirius tugged on Lily's hand. Lily turned. "Can you get your hands on books about motorcycles?"

"Yeah. I'll owl my Mum and ask her to buy a book. Can you get muggle money for her?" Sirius grinned and turned to James.

"You think your parents will exchange my galleons for muggle money and send it back?" James nodded. "Yep, I can get muggle money," he told Lily.

"Great. I'll ask her to go see how much two books about motorcycles cost then I'll tell you the exchange rate and we can go from there." Sirius nodded excitedly.

"What do you know about motorcycles?"

"Only what they look like, sorry I can't help you, Sirius. You'll have to read about it." Sirius sighed but nodded in understanding.

"Hey, James!" Remus called from across the table.

"What?" James called back.

"Love your breakdancing!" Remus grinned nice and big.

James nodded grimly mumbling, "B-boying" under his breath. Lily tapped his foot. James tapped her back.

"Lil!" Dorcas shouted from across the table. "You want to join our game of Exploding Snaps?" Lily nodded.

"Jeez, way to ask the group," Marlene snapped. Dorcas rolled her eyes.

"I want to play," Sirius whined.

"Let's play two games." Dorcas reached across Mary and handed Alice a deck of cards. Alice and Dorcas let the cards shuffle themselves and everyone got their wand at the ready.

Without the groups knowledge, they were being rowdy when Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Sprout came in for a drink. Sirius lost a match to James and slurred, "You fucking twat! I had that and you come out of nowhere, wanker." Sirius shoved James' shoulder.

"Fuck off, dickhead." James shoved him back.

"Dickhead! Dickhead! You-."

"Mister Black, I suggest you not finish that sentence," Professor McGonagall declared. Sirius turned to her with a terrified face.

Meanwhile on the other side of the table, "Bitch!" Remus exclaimed.

"You calling me bitch, slut?" Dorcas shot back. Dorcas and Remus just roared with laughter at themselves. After scolding Sirius and James until their cheeks were as red as Lily's hair, she turned to the other side of the table.

"Slut?" Remus laughed. McGonagall cleared her throat. Remus stopped laughing as did Dorcas, Peter, and Mary.

"Time for James' show?" Sirius asked. Everyone quickly rose from their chairs and dashed out of the Three Broomsticks. James was back to good spirits and was skipping down the road trying to find a patch of grass.

"Where are you going to do it?" Peter asked excitedly.

"Need some grass first," James replied scanning the area. They made it out of the main part of town and came a few houses down from the Shrieking Shack. "Here, great," James declared. He waited for everyone to crowd around before he swung his leg up toward his face then he flipped frontward and soared through the air before landing on the foot that had kicked. "Ax2Aerial."

James then bend over, swung himself around with his back leg, then leapt into the air and twisted before landing on the leg he's used for momentum. He twirled on the spot and grinned big. "Spyder Twist." James stood straight and took a few breaths. He then started a backflip but twisted and landed facing the opposite direction. He turned around and grinned again. "Back Full." Everyone from this point was just shocked, but James stood watching them process what he'd done.

"That was amazing," Dorcas said flatly. James scratched behind his head.

"Really?" he asked.

"Really and truly," Mary said. James laughed a little.

"Okay, I've got one more. A moon kick." He stepped away from them, started taking large quick steps, then launched into a backflip, midway through he kicked one leg out, and then he landed on his feet.

"Merlin," Remus whispered.

"That air, though!" Marlene shouted. James jumped up and down a few times.

"Okay, okay." He grinned big. "I've got something I've been thinking about." He paced a few times. "It's a combo. A round off, backflip, front flip, and then a side summy." He rolled his neck side to side. He kicked his feet outward one by one warming up.

"What's a side summy?" Peter asked.

"It's like a side flip but my feet aren't bent into my body, they're out." James waved his hand. "Okay, okay, okay," he whispered. He took a running start then did a roundoff into a backflip then immediately front flipped then used his momentum to go into a side summy. He landed on his feet but was off balance and dropped onto his butt. "Argh!" He stood up but jumped a few times. "I can do it," he told himself. Mary giggled.

James went again but he fell on his bum instead of his feet. He groaned and slammed his fists onto the ground.

"James, it's not that big of a deal," Remus said. James looked up at him innocently.

"I know, but I really want to land it." He stood up again and jumped while rolling his head. He took another running start and ended up landing on his feet. He roared and raised his hands. "Yes!"

Peter, Alice, and Mary clapped for him. Lily however said, "Way to go, Potter. Landed on your arse so many times you couldn't land no more." She rolled her eyes but James felt like he was flying.

"You know what? I don't care, Evans. I just landed that!" He pointed to the ground. "In fact…" he shaded his eyes and looked down to the Shrieking Shack. "I feel so confident that I want to visit the Shack."

"No," Remus said.

"That'll be fun," Sirius said.

"The Shrieking Shack?" Mary asked. James nodded and started out. Sirius followed at a brisk pace. Lily was determined not to be afraid of a stupid house especially with what she knew the truth about the rumors and strode after them. Marlene found similar feelings of bravery buried in her and followed quickly.

"Fuck that," Dorcas said and she started walking away. Alice caught her around the arm and dragged her to the Shrieking Shack. "What? You hate that place as much as me!"

"Yeah, but you frighten more easily than me." Alice laughed evilly and dragged her along.

"Peter, do you want to go back to the castle with me?" Mary asked. Peter felt his hands itch. He wanted so desperately to be alone with Mary, but he wasn't ready yet.

"No. The Shrieking Shack isn't harmful. Come on. I'll… I'll hold your hand if you get scared." Peter smiled to himself and started to walk with the group. Mary shot one look at Remus who was standing frozen gawking at where James had been before going and following Peter.

"Remus, you wanker, come on!" Sirius shouted. Remus blinked then sprinted after them.

"You can't go to the Shrieking Shack," he shouted. "It's haunted, you dumbskulls."

"It's not haunted, that's just a rumor," James shot back. Remus grabbed him by his jacket. "What?" James hissed.

"Don't do this to me," Remus begged. James narrowed his eyes but saw his friend's pain.

"I got embarrassed," James said lightly. "They don't even know why this is embarrassing." Remus narrowed his eyes.

"But _we_ know," Remus whispered. James furrowed his brow. "Please, James," Remus whispered desperately. James stared at him for a few moments before he relaxed.

"Okay, okay. Just… I just wanted you to play the piano for them. I'll figure something else out. But don't think you're getting out of this, Moony." James poked him in the chest. Remus let out a breath of relief and nodded. "Hey, Sirius, do you know if Flitwick has a piano?" James asked.

"Um… ask Mary she's in the choir."

"Mary, does Flitwick have a piano?" James shouted.

"Yes. Why? Are you a pianist too?" Mary asked. Lily scoffed. James shot her a glare.

"No. But I know someone who is…" This gained attention. "Remus Lupin is a wonderful pianist." Remus blushed.

"Really?" Dorcas asked suddenly alert.

"Um… I dabble," Remus answered.

"Self-taught?" Dorcas pressed on.

"Um… yeah, yeah. I… when I visit my Mum I play her piano." Remus swiped a hand through his hair keeping it out of his eyes. Sirius and James shared a look. Lily's head whipped up when she heard that line.

"Really?" she pipped. Remus turned around to face her then slowed down to walk next to her.

"Yeah. There's… she has a piano in her house. I play it while I wait for her to…" He furrowed his brow. "Be brought out by her nurse." Lily nodded understanding the code.

"How did James know?" Alice asked narrowing her eyes.

"I've visited his house," James answered as if it was obvious.

"Yeah but just because his Mum owns a piano doesn't mean he can play," Alice shot back.

"I saw the piano and asked if anyone could play. He said he could. I asked him to play me something. He played something original. That's all he knows, original." James held his chin high. Lily smiled a little. It was usually her job to keep him on his feet and it usually irked her, but now it was just funny.

"How close are we going to get to the Shrieking Shack?" Mary asked warily.

"Wonder if we can go inside," Sirius said loudly. Remus sucked in a breath. He quickly weaved around Lily, Marlene, and Alice.

"No," he whispered. Sirius looked back at him confused.

"What? Why?" Sirius asked.

"I'm not doing that," Remus whispered. Sirius sighed.

"Okay. We'll walk past." They walked past. Dorcas shoved Alice's hand off her and stood still watching the house cautiously. Mary shook a little. They were a step away from the small lawn in front of the house.

"I hear something," Dorcas said.

"You hear nothing," James replied. Dorcas frowned.

"No. I hear…" She frowned deeply. Dorcas whipped around and saw Sirius with his mouth open screaming as quietly as he possibly could in the back of the group. "Black!" she shouted. Sirius buckled into laughter. Dorcas slapped his arm hard.

"Oh, come on! It was a joke," Sirius said. James laughed heartily. Sirius gasped. "You know what we should do?" he asked.

"No. What?" James bounced on the balls of his feet.

"Get tattoos!" Sirius raised his arms over his head and cheered.

"I'd have to think on that," Remus said furrowing his brow.

"No," came a chorus from all the girls.

"Come on! It could be a lion for Gryffindor!" Sirius roared like a lion.

"No," another chorus from the girls.

"What about a flower. Lily you could get a lily flower."

"I _hate_ lily flowers," Lily spat.

"Okay. Well at least let's visit the shop. See what it's like. Get a feel. Maybe we can come back. Get another feel. See who really wants to do it," Sirius said. He raised a fist in the air and led the group toward the darker part of Hogesmeade. They came across a little shop with "Magical Tattoos, Muggle Tattoos, Piercings, and Hair Dying."

"Okay, okay," Dorcas said putting a hand on Sirius' shoulder. "Why don't you go in and we'll," she pointed to Marlene, Mary, Alice, and Lily. "Go back to the castle."

"I want to see what the fuss is about," Alice said. She pushed forward taking Lily with her. She murmured in Lily's ear, "You want to do this?"

"Actually?" Lily whispered back. Alice nodded. "Yes," Lily said excitedly. Alice grinned at her and she grinned back.

"Fine, Dorcas! Take em! I don't care! We've got the better ones!" Sirius shouted throwing his fist around. Marlene marched back toward him with her own fist raised. "Shit! No!" Sirius yelped. "I... I thought Alice was you!"

"Fucking, twat," Marlene murmured as she punched Sirius repeatedly in the chest with both fists. Sirius held his arms up and groaned with each punch.

"Marlene," Lily said cupping her hands around Marlene's shoulders. "Marlene, I really want to see this place and I can't if I don't have three…" She saw Peter's head watching the beating. "Four strong men to protect me." Marlene raised one hand and slapped Sirius in the face then stomped back to Dorcas and Mary.

"Men?" Remus asked.

"Strong?" Peter asked.

"Four?" James asked raising his brow.

"Yes, two for me, two for Alice," Lily replied turning Sirius around to face the shop.

"I get James and Sirius," Alice whispered. Lily froze for a second and grumbled to herself. Alice grinned and squished between Sirius and James.

"Thank you, Lily," Peter said lightly with a spring in his step. Remus chuckled and leaned down so he could reach her ear.

"Three… uh four?" he whispered. Lily shot a look up to him. Remus patted her back. "Nice Lily."

"Don't pet me like a dog," Lily snapped in a whisper.

"Dog?" Sirius asked turning around. He barked. "I'm a…" Alice narrowed her eyes. "Dog, you know with the ladies, Alice," he said quickly with a bite.

"Yeah, yeah. You're a dog or rather Padfoot because that apparently was more unique, James has Prongs for hair, Peter's a Wormtail cause he's a pack rat, Remus is Moony for some weird reason what was it?" She looked to James.

"He can't sleep during full moons," James replied smoothly. Alice ahhed and nodded.

"Right. It's pretty cruel to call Peter wormtail. Isn't that mean?" Alice asked.

"Peter came up with it," James lied.

"Yeah right," Sirius laughed. "James got mad one night and labeled him wormtail."

"I don't mind. I was first to get my name." Peter held his chin high despite the circumstance of his name.

"I thought you weren't mean to Peter," Lily sneered at James.

"I was drunk! Not to mention he wouldn't get off me. Sat on my head for like four hours. And it's not nice having a rat on your head."

"Merlin, you sat on his head for four hours? How did you not black out, James?" Alice asked. James' cheeks pinked. "And just because he hoards things doesn't mean he's an actual rat, Potter," Alice said. She wrapped an arm around Peter. Lily coughed away a laugh at James befuddled face. "Hoarding is a real issue, you know."

"I'm not a hoarder," Peter said weakly. "I just pack food and letters under my bed."

"In your wardrobe, in your night stand, in your books, under your pillow," Sirius listed.

"It brings ants in. We had to put magical barriers up," James added. Peter bowed his head.

"I'm going in." Peter pushed open the door. Alice shoved Lily in next then she opened her arm for Remus to follow. James shot her a weird look and went forward. Sirius moved to follow him, but Alice shoved him in the chest and squished in behind James. Once inside it was about as small as it looked. There was a table, a chair that could be reclined, and then the rest was for only employs.

…

 **Thank you to all who have read or reviewed or followed or favored.**

 **Feel free to do any of those four things if you feel like it in the future. :)**


	23. Chapter 23

…

Tattoos

…

"Hi-yah!" A man with various tattoos, diamond studs in both ears, and an orange Mohawk said raising his hand. "I'm Sid. What you in for? Tattoos? Hair dye? Piercing?"

"We're," Sirius paused.

"We're wanting to know what it's like… having a tattoo," James answered.

"Oh… well, I'll be honest. It hurts. With Muggle Tattoos there are magical ointments that you can put on to remove it, but with a magical tattoo that is going to be on you forever. You lot are young, so I'd start with a Muggle tattoo. I'd start small because they're painful."

"What's the difference between a muggle tattoo and a magical one?" Sirius asked stepping out of the crowd.

"Oh… I have to use a few spells to make a magical one magical. If it's a pattern that changes into another one. I ink the first pattern then I say _atramento quod finalem_. Then I say _atramento mutatiosum_. And it disappears while I ink the second pattern and so on if it's multiple changes. At the end I say _atramento revelare_. And it'll change rapidly. If you want it to be slower I tell it to be slower and I repeat the spell _atramento tardam_ until it's the speed you want it. If it's mood changing I use the spell, _atramento mutatiosum modus_. If its weather related _atramento mutatiosum tempestatiubus_. There are many different spell variations I use." He waved his hand.

"Like what else?" Sirius asked.

"Is it painful?" Lily asked at the same time.

"Um…" The man looked to Sirius then to Lily. "It hurts, little lady. It's like all pain, you don't know how much until it's there. But you get used to it. I'd start small and work up to big, though."

"What patterns are there?" Lily asked again.

"I have books of them." He motioned to the several books lining the top of the wall. "Animal ones, are the first book. Handwriting patterns second. Third shapes. Fourth are faces. Fifth are symbols to do with cultures, science, and math. Sixth are other things. If I've inked it and had permission, it's in there."

"You said animals?" James asked motioning to the first book. The man nodded and turned to Sirius.

"You thinking of going into this profession?" he asked. Sirius shrugged but stepped forward. "Come talk with me. The books are open to all of you. Take a look. Everything you could get in trouble with will be with us." He brought Sirius into the other room and sat him down to talk more about the profession.

"Animals." James pulled the book down and flipped through it.

"What are you looking for?" Alice asked.

"Anything to do with deer, rats, dogs, or… I don't know… like a wolf?" Lily smirked and hid it with her hand. Remus scratched behind his ear. Peter scuffed his shoes on the floor.

"Why a wolf?"

"My second favorite animal," James said proudly. Remus coughed.

"And a deer is your first?" Alice scrunched up her face.

"They like the woods, they've got antlers or prongs." He motioned to his hair. "They like moving fast, they're big, and they're warm blooded. They lick their doe mate when people see them together. They shed their antlers every year and regrow them over the summer and into the fall. Their antlers are velvety. They smell as well as dogs do. They hear really well. They take their first steps like a half an hour after they're born. They can swim. They're defensive and protective of their family. Their coat changes from red in the summer to grey in the winter. Their babies have white spots and they have one or two each spring. They can jump 30 feet in the air."

"Merlin! Okay, okay, I get it. You like deer." Alice groaned. "Now I know a lot about deer."

"I didn't know they _lick_ their mate when people see them together," Lily said.

"Oh yeah. Especially when another stag comes around. Then if the other stag won't go away, they fight with their antlers during the summer."

"When do they actually shed their antlers?"

"From October to December, they knock them off. It depends on how long they can keep them." Alice started to get involved with the book on animals. Lily took James' arm and pulled him to the side.

"When did you knock yours off?" she whispered.

"Late December. I was off in the woods and I jumped a little too high and they caught on a tree. It's kind of like a milk tooth. It's wobbly and mine just decided it could be plucked from a tree. It really sucked too because I'd just gotten them. I had managed transforming in late October. And I loved them then they just popped off. I hadn't known they could at the time. Now I'm prepared." James nodded.

"So did you grow them back over the summer?" Lily whispered. James smiled wide.

"They're still getting bigger. I'd transform in the room… well the dance room upstairs in my house. It's full of mirrors. My mother loved to dance, isn't very skilled, but she'll dance in there. Anyways, I'd go and…" He shot a look at Alice and lowered his voice again. "Transform and I'd watch the progress. They're really big now. I just… I'm praying that they stay till December again. The guys… they were. They called me a doe."

"Oh… well. I'm sure you were still as huge as before. I mean. Last year when…" She shot a look at Alice. "The attack happened," she whispered. "They weren't small. They. What you had two antlers that were the arm span of my arm and then they had two little spikes coming out of the bigger ones." James nodded.

"They grew. You want to see them sometime?" Lily chewed on her bottom lip and nodded. She then crowded in with Remus, Alice, and Peter and looked at the animal pictures. James felt cold and like he had just gotten no answer or half an answer.

"Deer!" Lily exclaimed pointing to a small picture with three deer intertwined by their legs and antlers, with twirling lines around them forming a circle.

"It reads, Norse symbol for deer," Peter said moving his finger along the line which he read. He looked up at James with a grin. James peered over their shoulders. He hummed.

"Should I just get antlers?" he asked.

"Yeah, but as you said," Lily said. "They come off during the year. So during the winter… you'd have antlers on your… body but not… but the deer wouldn't have them," Lily stumbled.

"Right, yeah. I mean… yeah," James sighed.

"What does that matter?" Alice asked. "It'd remind him of deer."

"They'd look like sticks. See they're right here." Remus pointed to a picture on the next page.

"Oh, well then that makes it final. Not getting just antlers," James said strongly.

"You could get just the head." Remus flipped the page and pointed to a deer head. "Saw it through the page."

"No," James almost shouted. "That's brutal. _Just_ a head. That's like… decapitation!"

"Merlin's beard, James," Alice murmured. "It's just an animal."

"Just an animal?" James said defensively.

"Relax," Lily said lightly. She found James' brown eyes and locked on them. She silently reminded him Alice didn't know. Sirius came out and went for the book of symbols. He had a skip in his step.

"Okay. If you've decided on something you like. I'd rather you draw it on with permanent marker and see if you like it. Come back next Hogwarts trip and get it. Have you decided?"

"I liked the Norse symbol for deer," James said. Sid took James over, pulled the chair so it was into a bed, and grabbed a special marker.

"This will stay on for three weeks. I have it in multiple colors. What color do you want?"

"Black." Sid grabbed the black marker.

"Where do you want it?" James pulled up the sleeve of his jacket.

"Right on the inside of my arm. Right under my wrist." Sid nodded.

"Size?" he asked. James furrowed his brow.

"Size of a snitch?" Sid nodded and started to draw with a quill and ink on a piece of paper. He held it up to James. James nodded. Sid started to draw on James' skin.

"Found it! Found the one!" Sirius exclaimed excitedly. He pointed to a symbol that read Symbol for Steel "But I want it rotated so it like this." Sirius raised the book and turned it 90 degrees. "I want it in black on my right pec." He pointed to his chest.

"Okay, give me a minute, and I'll get start, Sirius," Sid said. Sirius grinned and started to tap his foot. Sid finished with James and Sirius took off his shirt.

"Can, I," Lily said cautiously. "Get a line, just a black line… on the inside of my right ring finger, between my middle finger and my ring finger. An actual tattoo." Sid nodded and started to draw on Sirius.

"Just a black line?" Alice asked.

"It's… got a meaning." Lily didn't look anyone in the eye. "I want to get it over with. I don't have any doubts. So… finish Sirius' and anyone else's markers, and then do mine. Alice I'm going need your hand." Alice nodded.

"Can I get the outline of one little rat? On my left wrist." Peter asked carefully. Sid nodded. He finished drawing on Sirius and started to draw on a piece of paper.

"Can I get AC/DC… you know what? I don't want anything. I'm good." Remus crossed his arms over his chest. James fingered the deer on his wrist and smiled. Peter sat on the bed and got a rat on his left wrist.

"Lily, are you sure?" Alice asked. Lily nodded.

"Positive," she murmured.

"Are you sure you don't want to test it out?" James asked. He waved his marker stain in front of her.

"No. I want it now and forever. Make it magical. I don't want it to change or anything, I just don't ever want it to come off," Lily stressed ever.

"What does it mean?" Alice whispered. Lily shook her head. Alice looked to James. He shrugged.

"A line?" Remus asked.

"It means something," Lily stressed. Remus backed away. Lily was calm and patient. Peter flinched when the marker hit him. Lily prepared for a lot of pain. Peter looked at the little rat and got up off the bed.

"Lily, is it?" Sid asked. Lily nodded. "Come here." Sid patted the end of the bed. Lily sat down. Sid brought a table over. "Place your hand on this table. How big of a line do you want it to be?"

"From where my fingers meet up to my first knuckle. I don't want it to be seen easily." Sid nodded.

"You'll have to come in every few months to get it re-inked. It's in a spot that'll ware it easily. Like the bottom of your foot." Lily nodded. She held her hand out and Alice took it. "It'll be quick because it's so small. How wide do you want it?"

"Just like a pencil mark. So not wide at all." Sid nodded. He drew a small line on a paper and held it up. Lily nodded.

"Okay, got it." Sid pulled out a tattoo gun. He changed the needle and changed the ink to black. He sterilized Lily's fingers. He started the gun up and started drawing. Lily cringed but it wasn't as bad as she thought it'd be, she'd been thinking _crucio_ pain. Then in one minute it was done. She squeezed Alice's hand. Sid got out his wand, pointed it at the tattoo, and said, " _Atramento quod finalem_. You're done." He smiled at her. He put a bandage on her finger. "Keep it covered for two to six hours. So around… what time do you go to bed?"

"Like ten at the earliest." Sid nodded.

"So around eight take the bandage off. Wash your hands. Pat the tattoo dry with a soft towel. Apply, this." He pulled out an ointment. "A scab will form but it will pass. I assume you wash your hands every time you use the loo, so you should be fine on the washing. Make sure at least twice a day wash the tattoo, is what I usually say. Don't scratch it or pick at it until the scab is healed. Don't soak it until it's fully healed. Don't sun bathed for a month. Don't put restrictive clothing on it until it's healed. Try to keep this hand as still as possible. Shit. Is this your writing hand?" Lily nodded. "Okay, well. It may take longer to heal because the scab may come off since you use it so often. If it starts to swell, put ice on it."

"So… I'm good?" Lily asked. Sid nodded.

"That'll be eight galleons." Lily pulled out her change purse and gave him all her money that she'd budgeted for the day and a little extra that she'd brought just in case.

"How much would mine cost?" James asked.

"Fifteen galleons."

"What about mine?" Sirius asked.

"Fifteen galleons." Sid nodded to Lily.

"But like that was the smallest thing ever," Sirius exclaimed. "And it cost her eight galleons."

"Don't fight with me," Sid said calmly. "I can lower it to four. Here, take four back." He handed Lily four galleons. James and Sirius nodded as if they agreed. James crossed his arms over his chest. "Like you kids," Sid said lightly with a smile.

"Thank you," Lily said lightly. She took James and Sirius' arms and pulled them out the door with her. Remus, Alice, and Peter followed thanking Sid. Sirius tugged his arm away.

"We'll be back!" he called. Sid nodded and waved. "That was so interesting. I think I want to become a tattoo artist."

"You can't draw for shit," Remus said.

"No that's James. I can draw for shit. Plus I can practice. I really liked the different spells he used. I don't know if I'll get as many. I think I just want this one. Maybe another one. But like not all over my body, maybe I don't know."

"I can draw," James exclaimed.

"How did it feel, Lily?" Sirius asked.

"It hurt. But not as much as I thought it would. Like I was imagining horrible, horrible, horrible pain." Sirius nodded and thought about it.

"I'm definitely doing it next Hogesmeade trip."

"I'll see if I still like this pattern in two weeks," James said looking down at his deer.

"I didn't want a tattoo. Lily, I didn't think you wanted one," Alice said. Lily looked down at her wrapped finger and saw the tattoo through the material.

"I didn't either. But… I like it… always will." She let her hand fall to her side.

"I can't see mine," Sirius complained.

"Take your shirt off," Alice recommended. Sirius shot her a glare.

"In this weather, Prewett? Really?"

"What? It's not like it's snowing. It's sunny, just a little breezy, wouldn't be cold if it wasn't for the wind."

"There are leaves on the ground, Prewett." Sirius pointed to the leaves scattering the road. Alice rolled her eyes and gave up.

Two weeks later…

"I like it," Sirius said walking away with only his leather jacket on and his shirt tucked into the back pocket of his jeans. He motioned to his tattoo of the Symbol for Steel rotated 90 degrees.

"That was painful," James said looking down at his own tattoo of a stag head with antlers having changed him mind about the thought of decapitation over the two weeks they'd waited.

Two more weeks later….

"How are you walking?" Sirius asked wearing just his leather jacket with his shirt tucked in his back pocket. James gritted his teeth.

"Can't, can't do it." James started to hop on one foot.

"Why the hell would you get the lily flower on the bottom of your heel? Why the hell a lily flower?"

"You know why," James grumbled.

"But… what if she never loves you back, Prongs? What if she continues to keep you in this state of almost friendship but not quite friendship? You'll always have a lily flower that changes from white to pink depending if you're happy or sad."

"Yeah, well why'd you get the sign for Amalgamation? Or otherwise known as a grey wolf? Huh? Wolf not dog?" Sirius narrowed his eyes.

"That was for Remus. Friendship lasts a lifetime," Sirius spat.

"Love… your first love, hopefully my only love lasts forever, Padfoot." James glared at Sirius. Sirius shared the glare before breaking and wrapping an arm around James.

"You can't walk. You don't want anyone to know you have this tattoo. What's our story?" Sirius let James lean on his with every step to his right foot.

"I twisted my ankle doing a flip. Can you steal me a crutch?"

"Totally. As far as anyone knows, my second favorite animal is a wolf."

"Remus will blush." James chuckled.

"If Lily ever finds out…" James grimaced reminding himself no one will ever see the bottom of his foot.

"Favorite flower, Prongs?"

"Lily flowers." James grinned.

…

 **Thanks for reading. Feel free to write a review or follow or favorite.**

 **A large THANK YOU to all who've done any of those three things.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling. The World of Harry Potter and all her characters belong to her, not me.**

…

Sirius' Birthday

…

Sirius heard a grunt and another grunt and it continued until he opened his eyes. "Prongs!" he shouted raising to rest on his heels. "Goddammit! It's my damn birthday! All I wanted was to sleep the fuck in!" James looked up at him from his spot on the ground lifting the dumbbells, his eyes wide and glasses off.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "Happy Birthday, Sirius! You're of age."

"Not of age until eleven am." James nodded and finished his set. Sirius laid in bed and watched James grab hold of his four poster and start doing pull ups.

"You have presents you know," James said while up in the air. Sirius blinked his eyes open and popped up to be greeted with seven gifts wrapped on his trunk at the foot of his bed.

"Yes," he exclaimed. He pulled one that looked like a bottle of something fun and opened it. "Firewhiskey, from your parents." He picked up a rectangular one that was wrapped in green paper. "This feels like a book," he said in disgust. James chuckled. He opened it and, "Yep, it's a book."

"Who'd give you a book?" he asked. Sirius read the tag and groaned.

"Guess."

"Oh, shit. Your parents! Didn't you get in a spat before you left last time for my house?"

"Yes! They said if I wanted to be friends with blood-traitors I should bloody well tell them whether or not they housed a blood traitor themselves, so they could go ahead and kick me out," Sirius voice raised and raised. But he fell back onto his back. "And I didn't have the guts to tell them what I am."

"It was for Regulus, Pads. You know it. He was in the living room when it happened. He still looks up to you." James came and sat at the head of Sirius' bed.

"But he's making bad friends, Prongs. He's… I'm afraid he'll go… he'll go to _him_." Sirius covered his eyes with his hands. "Then he'll die because he doesn't have the guts to do what they do. He's too blind to know what they do. He hasn't had the jinxs and hexes put on him. I never complain to him. I always protect him. But… I don't know how long they'll let me do it, how long he'll let me do it." Sirius sniffled.

James patted his shoulder and said, "Open the rest of your presents. I know they'll be great."

"Okay, okay." Sirius sat up and picked up the largest gift box. He grinned. "This is from you." James grinned back at him. Sirius ripped it open. He gasped. "A tattooing kit?" James nodded. "Really? Does it tell you the spells?" He picked up a small book and flipped through it. He squealed a little then cleared his throat and raised a finger to James. "Don't tell anyone," he growled. James raised his hands.

"You can tattoo anyone over fourteen… but remember parents will be mad if you tattoo their fourteen year old. Like make sure it's not obvious if they're that young. Fifteen too. But sixteen, seventeen, eighteen. Go for it." Sirius shook his shoulder in a dance. "Plus, I need you to retouch my lily flower. And Lily will need you to touch up her line for free." James picked up his foot and looked at the bottom of his right heel. "I don't like the mood changing. I don't ever see it unless I'm in bed or changing, but… I hate that I know when it's pink and when it's white. So just… make it flash between the two." Sirius nodded.

"I'll do you during first break?" James nodded. "I'll ask Lily at breakfast." Sirius reached for another book shaped gift but he saw Remus' name big and bold on the cover and wasn't upset. He grinned and danced a little as he ripped it open. He opened the book and saw that there had been a circle cut out of it. "I love Remus. Remus!" Remus groaned. "I love you!"

"Happy Birthday, Pads," Remus mumbled.

Sirius saw that something dark was at the bottom of the hole and put his hand in. He pulled out a black dog pendant for his gold chain. He gasped. He pulled his chain off immediately and put the pendant on. He put his chain back on and picked up the pendant. He stared at it for a few Moments. James tapped his foot and Sirius picked up two long and tall rectangles. Something rattled in both of them. On a small tag on both red gifts had Peter's name on them.

Sirius pulled out two bottles of firewhiskey and he whistled. Remus groaned and dropped his pillow over his head. "From his stash?" Sirius asked.

"How else would baby face get it?" James asked sarcastically.

"I prefer James' audience to baby face." James fake laughed and crossed his arms over his chest. "This ones really long." Sirius picked up a checkered black and white gift. "From Marlene and Mary." He ripped it open and pulled out a baseball bat. "What the shit is this?"

"A bat," James answered dully.

"Why the hell do I need a bat when I've got a wand?"

"Dunno?" James picked up a small square from Dorcas and Alice and handed it to Sirius. Sirius ripped it open and found a baseball ball. He gasped.

"This is a Muggle game! I know this one. There's a bat and a ball. It's American." Sirius grinned. James chuckled and tossed the ball up and down. "Last ones from Lily Evans. Lily-Billy. Red. James' crush. Flirt. Cheeky Ginge. Lil. Evans."

"Okay, okay, I get it. It's Lily. Now open it. She usually does a group gift with Marlene and Mary." Sirius shrugged but opened it. It was a leather bracelet with a paw print pendant dangling off. Sirius barked out a laugh. "I forgot… she's in on it." He rolled onto his back in laughter. "She should call me Padfoot more often." Sirius carefully put the bracelet on. He winked at James, jumped up, and ran into the bathroom for the shower.

James went back to his ground exercises. Sirius came out when he was doing Spiderman pushups. Sirius pulled on his pants and uniformed trousers and then dropped down to do a few Spiderman pushups too. "I can do um too, you know."

"Yes, Pads, I know. They're not that hard." Sirius jumped up and pulled on a white button down and grabbed an already tied Gryffindor tie and put it around his neck not tightening it. He then grabbed his robes, grabbed the baseball, put it in his pocket, grabbed the baseball bat enlarged his pocket and stuffed that in, put his tattooing kit and three bottles of firewhiskey in his trunk, and touched each pendant.

"Off to breakfast to meet the special… not so special but in your mind she is… Evans." Sirius pulled on his combat boots and ran off before James could get him in a headlock.

Lily was waiting with her hair in a French braid that went all the way around her head making a crown of sorts. Sirius complemented her, she congratulated him, and held something behind her back. Sirius stared at her and didn't move until she tilted her head toward him.

"What is it?" he begged. Lily laughed heartedly. She pulled a book out. Sirius' excitement fell a little.

"It's about baseball, Padfoot," she teased. Sirius gasped and pulled the book out of her hands. He eagerly flipped through it. "Love your bracelet by the way, birthday boy." Sirius winked at her. Lily poured some tea and nudged a bowl of porridge near him. He started to eat and drink while flipping through the pages of the book. "I've never seen you read so enthusiastically before," she teased. Sirius rolled his eyes and took a sip of his tea.

"Give me anything exciting about Muggles and I'll jump right in," he said proudly raising his chin up. Lily laughed and pulled the Daily Prophet in front of her starting on the crossword. Thirty minutes later Peter came down with puffy eyes and a glazed over stare.

"Morning, Padfoot. Happy 17th birthday," he greeted. Sirius grinned and went back to his book. Peter sat down and started eating before he suddenly stopped and looked back to Sirius. His mouth dropped open. "Are you reading? Without someone forcing you to?" he whispered.

"It's about baseball, a muggle sport in the States. Lily gave me this book and this bracelet." He raised his left hand. Peter squinted his eyes then nodded. "Thanks for the firewhiskey. Now I have three bottles." Sirius' grin was wide across his face. Peter nodded.

"What else you get?"

"Remus gave me this and a torn book." Sirius raised his chain to show his pendant. Lily chuckled a little. "The Potters gave firewhiskey. My parents," he grumbled, "gave me a journal. Mary and Marlene gave me a baseball bat. Dorcas and Alice gave me a baseball. And James, the saint he is, gave me a tattooing kit. Hey, Lily. Do you want me to touch up your line?"

"In a few weeks, yeah." She looked down at it. "Actually it's broken just a little bit. I want to see you trace over a few lines before you do it though." Sirius nodded.

"Before dinner?" he asked. Lily nodded.

"Sounds great. Want some money for it? Or do I get the friend discount?" Lily chewed on her bottom lip.

"Friend discount includes first hundred tattoos are free. Those tattoos include touchups." Sirius grinned. "No friend discount equals four knuts or free depending on if I like you or not and how well you take the pain." Sirius sniggered and flipped a page in his book.

"I see you've given him the book," Mary said sitting down next to Lily. Lily laughed and nodded.

"He immediately started reading like it told him the wonders of the world." Mary laughed lightly and picked up a bowl of porridge.

"Happy birthday, Sirius," she murmured. Sirius nodded to her. James came down and sat on the other side of Sirius. He knocked shoulders with him.

"Hey, four eyes, thanks for waking me up early on my birthday," Sirius said with a little edge in his voice. James fingered his glasses thinking about taking them off.

"Sorry about that. Wasn't trying, just…"

"Didn't know your grunts were that loud?" Sirius asked.

"Grunts?" Mary questioned.

"Don't ask," Lily pleaded.

"What?" James asked shocked. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Evans. I was lifting weights." James scoffed. He watched the teachers for a moment before saying without moving his head, "I know silencing charms for that." Mary spit out her pumpkin juice. Lily coughed. Sirius chuckled. Peter laughed breathily.

"Why do you two look like you've seen a monster?" Marlene asked sitting down next to Lily.

"Nothing," Lily answered. Marlene dipped her brow in confusion. She leaned back and caught Mary's attention.

"Me?" she mouthed. Mary shook her head. Marlene nodded. "Happy Birthday, Black." Sirius smiled. He's long since accepted that she would call him that.

"Can I get a kiss later?" he asked. Marlene looked sideways then shrugged.

"Depends on if you get me in a good mood." Sirius sighed and put his book in his bag. He looked around the Great Hall and spotted Severus Snape chewing on a piece of toast and writing furiously in a notebook.

"Prongs," Sirius said lightly. James turned around with him. "Can I ask for a birthday gift?" James nodded catching where Sirius was looking.

"Okay, just for today."

"Just… a few of them."

"One session?" James asked.

"One session," Sirius repeated. "Distract her?" he asked.

"Done. When?"

"Right before lunch." They turned back around and James returned to his toast and jam.

"What's right before lunch?" Lily asked.

"Fireworks," James answered. Lily hummed. Alice sat down next to James.

"Happy birthday, Sirius," she greeted.

"Happy me day to you too," Sirius responded. Alice laughed sarcastically. Sirius smirked.

"What's planned for the day, Marauders?" She asked looking from Peter to Sirius to James. "Where's Remus?"

"Sleeping. Probably going to be late for class," James answered. "Tried to wake him but he told me to fuck off." James smirked behind his fist.

"Moony's good old fuck off," Sirius sighed. Peter sniggered. The day went smoothly other than Remus' slightly dramatic entrance to Potions. Right before lunch James, Peter, and Remus gathered fireworks.

"Come on, Evans," James shouted motioning with his head for her to join.

"I was going to go study by the lake." James tensed because he'd seen Snape go off toward that direction with Sirius on his tail.

"Not really a good idea." James cringed. Lily frowned. James walked over to her. "I saw Sni- Snape walk down that way earlier." Lily's mouth formed an o.

"I really would rather study, Potter." James frowned.

"Can I see your real face, Evans?" Lily bit her lip.

"Potter," she grumbled.

"Evans," he grumbled back. She blinked and looked away.

"I'll only see the show if other people will be there."

James ran off shouting, "Come see fireworks! Fireworks! Fireworks!" A few people followed him and Lily sighed but followed too. The fireworks show was spectacular. Lily noted she didn't see Sirius there, but when she saw Severus running back to the castle holding his nose she understood. Sirius finally showed up for the last pop with a slash across his left cheek and blood dripping down his hand.

"Frank's good with healing spells, right?" Lily asked Alice. Alice turned.

"Yes, why?"

"Ask him to fix Sirius up." Lily pointed. Alice quickly whispered to Frank who looked around then set off for Sirius. After a few Moments, Sirius was perfect again.

Two days passed before they were allowed to go to Hogesmeade. Lily got up extra early going up to get Frank so he could let her go. He didn't bother getting out of his pajamas. He walked her through the gate and signed her off then went back to bed for an hour. Sirius woke up, got out of Remus' bed, and noticed James sleeping peacefully. He tiptoed over to James' bed and then pounced.

"Ah!" James shouted. He covered his face with his hands in a defensive state. Sirius rolled over in laughter. James kicked him. Sirius jumped off the bed.

"You working out? I feel in a workout mood." Sirius stretched his arms. James glowered at him. Sirius bent over to stretch his legs. "Stretch it out, Prongs." James took a few deep breaths them stretched lightly. "Now we've got… pushups." Sirius dropped to the ground. He went through James' morning routine with him but beat him to the showers.

They scarfed down breakfast, met up with Mary and Marlene, dragged Alice away from Frank, and dragged Dorcas away from a fifth year Hufflepuff. Then they were off. Frank signed them out, kissed Alice, and followed closely. They headed straight for The Three Broomsticks where Lily said she'd get them seats, because the last few times they'd tried to get ten seats since Frank had joined them, they were unsuccessful.

When they opened the door, Sirius barked out laughter, James froze, Mary and Alice's jaws hit the floor, Remus and Peter keeled over in laughter, Frank coughed, and Marlene and Dorcas slapped their foreheads.

"What?" Lily shouted. She was literally lying on top of two tables reading a book with one hand and the other holding her wand at the ready to defend the table.

"She's been that way for two hours," Rosemerta grumbled. "Won't get off the bloody table."

"Evans, you right in the mind?" James asked. Lily slid into one seat and motioned for them to join.

"Can we wipe the table down?" Sirius asked. Rosemerta handed him a towel. "I think her arse was where I want to sit." Lily rolled her eyes.

"I took a shower, Padfoot." Sirius' eye glimmered at his nickname.

"Still your arse. A good looking one, but it's an arse." Sirius handed the towel to Peter who wiped the tables down. Everyone else took their seats. Lily missed James slap Sirius on the back of the head for his comment.

"Merlin, it's not like you labeled her yours… oh wait I forgot." Sirius sniggered at James' glare.

"Some people," Lily started glaring at three older men. "Don't know what reserved means."

"They weren't reserved, you bloody laid on the table!" One man shouted pointing to the table.

"You snooze, you lose," Lily shot back. They all laughed in awe of her.

"Thanks, Evans," James said elbowing Sirius.

"Thanks," Sirius parroted. "Rosemerta, give me a shot of firewhiskey! I'm official of age as of Wednesday." Rosemerta checked his ID then gave him a shot with a wink. Sirius chuckled. "And legal." He grinned. He downed the shot like a practiced man, as he was one. "Okay now get everyone a round of butterbeer on me. Can't have my underage friends jealous of my new status." He puffed his chest out. Frank reached an arm around Peter and tapped Sirius' back then leaned forward. Sirius leaned forward on the table too.

"Want to go to the liquor store and buy a few bottles after this while everyone hides around the corner?" Sirius grinned wide at Frank's words.

"Deal." They fist bumped. "Here that everyone?" Everyone nodded having liquor and leaned in.

"Which corner?" Alice asked Frank.

"Any corner. It doesn't matter." Frank wrinkled his face as if that was the stupidest question.

"Fine." Alice crossed her arms over her chest. Frank's chest clinched.

"Oh, sorry. I was a dick just then." Alice nodded. Frank kissed her cheek. She didn't release her arms. He took one of her hand and pried it out then held it. Alice sighed and turned to talk with Dorcas.

"Trouble in heaven," James sang to Sirius.

"Ah, she'll be fine in a minute," Lily replied with a wave of her hand.

"Hey, when we wait for them to come back after they go buy us liquor, you want to make the ground bouncy and flip around?" James asked. "I got the spell from my Dad around a month ago. He wouldn't give it to me until I pleaded saying I wanted to teach people how to flip around."

"Mary, want to bounce around?" Lily asked.

"Sounds like fun." Mary grinned. "Marlene?" She asked looking down to the end of the table.

"I'll go for it. Dorcas? You listening?" Dorcas turned her head. "Want to bounce around while we wait for our liquor?"

"Yeah, sure. Remus?" Dorcas asked Remus beside her.

"Uh?"

"Bounce around?"

"Yeah sure." Dorcas pointed her eyes to Alice." Remus frowned then caught on.

"Hey, Alice. Want to bounce around while we wait for our liquor?"

"Oh, for Merlin sakes!" Sirius exclaimed. "You're all bouncing around while we go get liquor!" That seemed to catch a few adults' heads. "For ourselves, the of age wizards," he added quickly just as loud while he motioned to Frank.

"I'm invited right?" Peter asked quietly.

"Yes, Wormtail, you're invited. It's just Frank and I who are not," Sirius grumbled. Peter grinned.

"Do you think I can do a flip, James?" Peter asked.

"You can try. You might fall on your head or back or butt or something, though."

"I'm pretty sure I can attempt one."

Frank and Sirius took an extra-long time in the liquor store. Lily, Alice, and Mary managed front flips. Marlene actually landed on her back then bounced off the area James had made bouncy and onto the concrete ground on her butt. Lily and Remus both managed backflips, Remus having not felt like attempting what he deemed an easy front flip. Frank found it too high and bounced out helping Marlene up. Dorcas knocked into many people who were flipping around including James who hadn't stopped twirling or flipping or bouncing the entire time.

Sirius made everyone get off the bouncy floor, had Peter and James hold his multiple bottles, and then completed a front flip and then landed on his head trying to do a backflip. Then he did another front flip to show he was worth something. James returned the ground to solid and they walked back to the castle, everyone hiding a bottle under their coat as they passed Flich.

…

 **Thank you for reading. If you feel like it, review, follow, or favorite.**

 **Thank you to all who have done so in the past.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling. These characters do not belong to me. She is Queen.**

…

Gryffindor vs Slytherin

…

Sirius' birthday week was full of activities. On Sunday, after their Saturday Hogesmeade trip, they had the first Quidditch game of the season. Naturally, not wanting everyone to be hungover for the game, they pushed Sirius' big birthday bash back to that night. They all hoped beyond hope that no loud noises or bright lights would bother them the next day at school. Not only were the Gryffindors hoping to celebrate Sirius' birthday, but they were hoping to also celebrate their win against Slytherin. But everyone was going to throw a party no matter what happened. Mostly because the Marauders valued Sirius' birthday over James' Quidditch team, three to one.

"I'm not going to be happy if we lose this match, I'm sorry, Sirius, but I can't be. This is my first game being captain. I need to win."

"You don't need to win, Prongs," Remus said. "You want to win. Just as the rest of us want to party for Sirius because he turned 17. There will be alcohol to drown your sorrows if you do lose, but I don't think you will."

"Slytherin's so good this year, though." James looked pale and frightened. "And I don't have Tommy on the team this year. And I put two new recruits on. What if I made the wrong choices? What if we lose? I'm the new captain. We can't lose with a new captain." James stared blankly at his food on the table.

"The Slytherins have a new captain this year too, Prongs. It doesn't mean anything. You'll do fine." Remus patted him on the back. James sighed deeply. There was a roar from the Gryffindor table and a several boos from the Slytherin side. James turned to see which member of his team had made it to breakfast. Marlene walked in with Tina on her arm. Tina looked scared, but Marlene grinned and walked over to her captain.

"Morning, cap," she greeted. James nodded grimly. "Wind's strong today. Sun's bright. But it's not too bad for a game day." James nodded again. Marlene knitted her brow and left letting Tina go.

"You'll do great, James," Peter said full of confidence. James nodded.

"I'm going to fly a few laps before the game." James shot off out of the Great Hall.

"You're in for an interesting game to commentate, today, Padfoot." Remus grinned over at Sirius. Sirius hummed but shrugged.

"I'll focus on pointing out all of Slytherin's downfalls." He grinned evilly. Lily carried a notebook with her to the game as she always did.

"Why do you always write during the games?" Mary whined. "Why can't you just enjoy the games for once?" Lily looked through her notebook and blushed slightly. Mary really had no idea that Lily kept Quidditch notes during the games.

When Sirius took his place at the mic and the crowded roared, McGonagall leaned over and said, "Mister Black, am I correct to assume you will be focusing on the game not trash talking the other team?" McGonagall asked raising her eyebrows. Sirius chuckled. "Black," McGonagall warned. Sirius nodded.

"Okay, and they're off," Sirius said into the mic. The crowd roared. "And Slytherin's Meritt Earling has the quaffle. James Potter's right under him ready to catch a drop. Earling going straight to the posts not even thinking of passing to Alton Bing or Linwood Oppenheim. Gryffindor Tina Fellows, new chaser chosen by the new captain, James Potter also a chaser, is circling the Gryffindor posts getting ready to catch the missed shot. Marlene McKinnon is right beside Earling." The crowd gasped.

"Earling jams McKinnon! That's a bloody foul!" Sirius rose. McGonagall shoved him back down by the shoulder. "McKinnon recovers quickly and shoves back, yay! Shit… they're at the posts." McGonagall slapped Sirius over the head. "I mean shoot. Gryffindor Quentin Charles is ready to defend the goals. Earling comes for the middle post. Charles has his hands ready. Oh!" Sirius winced.

"Charles knocked off his broom by a bludger aimed by…" Sirius looked around. "Flossie Abbott of Slytherin, second year on the Slytherin Quidditch team. With Charles down Slytherin scores their first ten points." Sirius sighed deeply. James saluted Sirius with the quaffle in his hand. "Potter has the quaffle. Down the pitch he goes. Earling comes to ram him, but oh! Potter tosses the quaffle to McKinnon! McKinnon's off, down the pitch with Fellows ghosting her. Slytherin's Oppenheim is tailing her but Fellows! Fellows knocks her off her broom! Nice pick, James!" Sirius wolf whistled.

"A bludger flies right over McKinnon's head. Bing of Slytherin shoots straight toward McKinnon! Oi! Don't you dare hit her!" Sirius stood again. McGonagall pushed him back into his seat. "Knock it off, Minny." Sirius shoved her hand off his shoulder and stood. "I'm enjoying the game. Bing you better not!" Sirius watched breathing heavily as Marlene tossed the quaffle back to James and Frank Bing hawk dived to avoid a collision with her.

"Quaffle's back to Potter. Potter shoots down the pitch. Oh, no." Sirius catches Slytherin fans cheering their heads off in the seekers direction. "Snitch has been spotted. Olivia Tate and Aubree Cutter are racing after it. This is early in the game for the snitch to be seen. Wonder if it'll get away. And they're hawk diving toward the ground. Cutter bails… but Tate's still on it! Oi, she's bailing. Good too otherwise she would have been meat. Snitch is gone. Potter's made it to the posts but Slytherin Keeper Ettie Gwin knocks it off…" Sirius gasped. "Straight into Gryffindor Fellow's hands. She aims for the left post, and dammit! Gwin saves it. He punts it halfway down the pitch straight into Oppenheim's hands.

"Charles is back and ready for the game. Oppenheim goes straight for the right post. Charles' dives to be right in front of it. He's got this. Oh, shit! He fakes out and somehow manages to score on the middle post!" Sirius groans loudly. The Slytherin fan cheer wildly. "Twenty points for Slytherin; nill for Gryffindor. McKinnon has the ball. Slytherins are in full press, one to one. Potter breaks from Bing. McKinnon tosses the quaffle to him. Fellows breaks from Oppenheim. Potter tosses to Fellows. Fellows is bombarded with Oppenheim and Earling. Fellows drops the ball straight bellow her into McKinnon's arms.

"McKinnon races toward the posts. Oh! She's blocked by tag team of Bing and Gwin. Bludger aimed by captain Lucinda Talkalot barely misses her nose! Pass it! Pass it!" Sirius chanted. Marlene looked to her left but James was blocked by Oppenheim and Earling. She looked around for Fellows but Fellows was hit by a bludger in the back. "Shit!" Sirius ringed as Bing rammed his shoulder into Marlene's and stole the quaffle. "Defense! Defense!"

"Sirius, you are a commentator not a coach," McGonagall warned. Sirius nodded without taking his eyes off the game.

"Bing passes to Earling. Earling hawk dives to avoid a bludger. Potter snatches the ball straight out of Earling's hands!" Sirius whooped. "Go James!" James grinned from ear to ear as he made his way down the pitch. There was a gasp from the crowd and Sirius looked around. "Tate and Cutter are after the snitch! Tate's in front. Oh!" Sirius recoiled. "Tate's been hit by a bludger aimed by Abbott." Sirius gasped loudly. Cutter raised his hand in victory. "Slytherin's won," Sirius whispered. The Slytherin side roared.

The field was bombarded with green and silver. Every Gryffindor was frozen in their seat in disbelief. Lily's notebook fell on her feet, pen and all. The fists Mary had raised in victory were frozen before Dorcas lowered them for her. Alice hid her face in Frank's chest. "James?" Peter asked no one.

"Fuck," Remus sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

Marlene wrapped an arm around Tina Fellows and escorted her down to the ground. James rushed to the Gryffindor locker room. He stood posted outside waiting for his team to come recover. He stared intently at the grass. Marlene wrapped an arm around Lloyd Bottman squishing Tina closer to her. Lloyd sighed deeply. Quentin Charles and Olivia Tate wrapped their arms around each other as they walked to the locker room. Anthony Dodgers hung his head and slumped over to James. James patted each team member on the back and told them they did a good job.

Once in the locker room, everyone took a seat on the benches. James stood in front of them and took a few deep breaths. "I've… I have no doubt that we would have won against any other house. I have no doubt we would have won had that bludger not come out of nowhere. Olivia, you did the best you could possibly do. We tried our hardest and that is all I can ask of you, of myself. I really wanted to win; we all really wanted to win. I'm your captain. Do not blame yourself, I don't blame you. We have a party tonight. I plan on drowning my sorrows. Quentin, Marlene, I suggest you do the same. Everyone else…" James ran a hand through his hair. "Dance the night away and lose yourself in the beat."

"Can we not bum drinks off the older kids?" Lloyd asked.

"You don't tell him that," Olivia shot hitting Lloyd in the chest with the back of her hand. Lloyd chuckled and grabbed her hand. She tore it back and flipped him the bird. Lloyd chuckled harder. Olivia, Marlene, and Tina walked into the girl's side and closed the door.

Lily and Mary waited outside the locker room door. Remus, Sirius, and Peter were right behind them. "He's going to be so sad. Why did this have to happen on my birthday weekend?" Sirius whined.

"The party's on no matter how sad James is feeling," Remus said. Peter nodded. Sirius sighed.

"So we're having a pity party?" Mary asked.

"Pity party, Sirius' birthday party, same thing," Remus answered. Marlene came out first with her wet hair slicked back into a pony tail. It puffed into a dark frizzy nightmare.

"Did you get tanner during the game?" Sirius asked squinting at Marlene's face. Marlene narrowed her eyes.

"No. I just don't have any makeup on you, arsehole."

"You wear makeup to look lighter?" Remus asked in shock.

"Well… duh."

"But you look beautiful right now," Sirius said in shock. Marlene scratched the back of her neck. She smiled lightly.

"Thank you," she said softly. Sirius smiled to his brothers. James rushed out with his head down, hair spiked, and glasses back on. He rushed past the group surrounding the locker room. Sirius, Remus, and Peter shot off after him.

"James! James, it's okay!" Peter shouted after him. James didn't let up his speed though.

"He seemed to put all the blame on himself and none of it on us," Marlene said to Mary and Lily. They all shuffled up to the castle with their heads low.

A few shots of firewhiskey in them all and they were having a good time. James took up residence next to a fourth year who was happy to still be at the party. James complained about the game's results. Everyone else was happily singing along to Play that Funky Music by Wild Cherry.

"Dancin' and singin' and movin' to the groovin'… And just when it hit me somebody turned around and shouted." They took a breath. "Play that funky music white boy! Play that funky music right… bom, bom. Play that funky music white boy. Lay down that boogie and play that funky music till you die! Till you die! Oh till you die!" Sirius went so high he squished his face and held his ear. Lily used her cup as a microphone. Dorcas and Alice shimmied their shoulders.

James was in a poor mood until Mary came over and pulled him to his feet. Just then Peter played Turn the Beat Around by Gloria Estefan and James perked up a bit. After a few verses he started to sing quietly. "Turn the beat around… Love to hear percussion. Turn it upside down (turn it up, turn it up, turn it upside down)… Love to hear percussion. Love to Hear it. Turn the beat around." Eventually he was belting with the rest of them.

They nodded their heads as Alice but The Boys are Back in Town by Thin Lizzy on. "Guess who just got back today… them wild-eyed boys that been away. Haven't changed that much to say, but man, I still think them cats are crazy."

James' turn to choose was next and he chose Fool to Cry by The Rolling Stones. "When I come home baby… and I've been working all night long. I put my daughter on my knee, and she says… 'Daddy what's wrong?' I put my head on her shoulder." But he was immediately booed by the crowd.

"Way to bring the mood down, James!" Dorcas shouted throwing her cup at James. James was drenched in gin and Coca-Cola and his forehead was slapped with Dorcas' cup. He wiped his face dry with his hand. Sirius sneaked around James who was reaching for Dorcas who was throwing Lily at James. Lily's shoulder rammed into James' chest. He grabbed her other shoulder and moved her away but Dorcas was already using Remus as a body shield. Sirius replaced the music with Tush by ZZ Top.

He head banged and raised his rock and roll hand. He started to bounce around. Alice and Frank joined him quickly. Mary took Peter's hand and twirled with him. Marlene wooed and mirrored Sirius. James grabbed Remus and pulled him into a headlock. Remus punched James' ribs.

"I been up, I been down. Take my word, my way around. I ain't askin' for much. I said, Lord, take me downton," Lily belted taking Dorcas away from Remus and James and bouncing with the rest of the group.

"I been bad, I been good," they sang. James groaned and let Remus go. Remus raised his fists in fighting position. James took a drink from the coffee table and poured it over Remus' head. Remus swung a left hook at James. James blinked after Remus' fist hit his face. He took a few deep breaths and stared at Remus, who had just realized the mistake he'd made. James slowly took off his glasses, they were broken and hanging off his face. He threw them to the ground and raised his fists. He motioned for Remus to hit him again. "Dallas, Texas, Hollywood. I ain't asking for much."

Remus took a step back. James danced forward. He motioned again. Remus closed his eyes and threw a right hook James' way. James blocked it with his left hand but the beginnings of Remus' knuckles scrapped against James' cheek. James didn't wait before he landed a soft jab to Remus' nose. Remus shouted and threw a left hook at James. His fist made contact with James' cheekbone. James rebounded and jumped a few times putting his hands back up.

"Hey! Break it up!" Lily shouted. She slapped James' hands until he dropped them to his sides. She turned to Remus and fixed his broken nose with a quick and silent. " _Episkey_." She turned to James. " _Vulnera Sanetum_ ," she said aloud. James felt his cheek burn then freeze. "No more fist fights." She shoved a bottle of liquor in James' hand.

James and Remus stared at each other for a moment before pulling into a pound hug. James pulled back, grabbed a cup, and poured Remus a cup. "Cheers," James said raising his bottle. Remus grinned and raised his glass.

"Cheers." James pounded his head back and forth to the beat.

"You should totally b-boy!" Mary shouted at him. James raised a single brow. Marlene wooed. Alice raised her hands and cheered. James looked to Lily who was lost in the beat swaying back forth while bouncing.

James dropped down into a six-step. He went into flares. He raised into a step, hop, twist, type toprock swinging his arms back and forth. He then leaned forward and front flipped but landed on his back. Alice cringed, but James popped back up with a smile. Marlene wooed again. Frank mirrored James' toprock move. Sirius dropped into a coin drop spinning on his back, a move he'd seen James do before. But he had to squat and stand awkwardly after he finished. Remus went into the circle and bounced pumping his hand up and down.

Dorcas went and bounced with him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laughed when his eyes almost popped out of his sockets. She let them fall and rest on his chest as they bounced together. Marlene let Sirius twirl her around and around before he started to box step with her. Alice and Frank were grinding against each other. Mary bounced in front of Peter, who was two stepping it and staring intently at her. James spotted Lily still in her zone. Her head slightly tipped backward, neck exposed. James weaved around the crowd to her side.

"Hey," he said breathily. Lily opened her eyes and smiled drowsily.

"Hi." She blinked slowly. James grinned at her and scratched behind his head. Lily's brow furrowed. "Where are your glasses?" Her eyes flicked between his two. James frowned.

"Remus broke them… but I think I look better without them." He shrugged.

"Don't you need them? I noticed you wear your goggles during games." James nodded.

"They're prescription goggles. But… I'm not blind without my glasses. Like I said during Slughorn's party. I can see pretty far without them." Lily sighed and nodded.

"You should wear them more often." James frowned. "Or not." Lily looked to the side.

"I break them too easily." Lily's frown got deeper. "They slip off my face easily. I can't wear them tighter because they're uncomfortable and caused a rash. So whenever I do anything athletic they fall off. Sometimes when I'm reading or looking down they slip off my nose." James looked down at Lily. "Like when I look down at short people like you… they slip to the end of my nose." He grinned.

"I'm not short. I'm 5'6." Lily furrowed her brow. James chuckled.

"6'4." James pointed to his chest. "Ten inches taller. Two inches short of a foot."

"How tall is Remus?"

"6'5." Lily's eyes widened.

"Only an inch taller, but he never lets me forget it." James shook his head in Remus' direction.

"Yeah, but your hair makes you six five." James shook his head.

"No. I've measured with my hair. It's more like six four and three quarters." James sighed deeply. Lily nodded. She tilted her head back to get a good look at him. He was staring at Remus and Dorcas who had started lightly grinding. "How tall is Dorcas?"

"5'8. Marlene's 5'4. Mary's 5'1. Alice's 5'7." James chuckled. "What? We have a measuring board in our dorm and we check every time there's a fight about height differences which is like once a week." James knitted his brow. "Dorcas, Alice, and I have a contest to see who'll be the tallest. I think I'm losing." James broke out into a smile.

"That's Remus and me. I hope I grow another inch or two, but I'm happy at this height. Sirius says he's 5'11 but he's really 5'10. Peter's like." James squinted. "You're 5'6?" Lily nodded. "Then he's 5'5? Frank… I'd guess he's 6 foot. Frank!" Frank waved him off not taking his eyes off Alice. "How tall are you?" James shouted.

"6 feet," Frank snapped. He flipped James off. Lily laughed loudly.

"Want to dance, 5'6?" James asked holding his hand out to her. Lily looked down at his hand and felt a flutter in her stomach. But immediately her heart clenched at the thought of the flutter in her stomach.

"I… Eli Rosenberg asked me to Hogesmeade," she quickly said with a cringe. James felt his body freeze. He had no knowledge of this, hadn't heard anything in the gossip.

"When… when?" James choked out shocked and disappointed.

"On the way to the Quidditch match. I was running late and he caught me on my own." Lily looked down at the hand James had dropped. She felt a tugging in her chest for James. "I… I said yes." Lily didn't meet James' eye.

"Oh…" James ran a hand through his hair.

"No one knows yet. I didn't have a chance to tell Mary during the game and I was planning on telling them before bed. I just…"

"I wasn't asking you romantically," James quickly interrupted. Lily frowned. "I was just asking if you wanted to have fun and have a dancing partner. But… I'm happy for you," he gritted out. He took a deep breath. Eli fucking Rosenberg.

"Well I haven't been on the date yet. It's in two weeks. It's a pretty long time away. He mentioned something about planning something sooner though. So." James kicked himself. He was officially in the friendzone.

"Let's talk about something else," he pleaded. Maybe, just maybe if he avoided her dating talk he'd one day be out of the friendzone. Lily frowned. James sighed. "Just… I'm happy you're excited about your date. I hope you have a good time. I'll hex him if he treats you poorly. Just…" he raised a finger toward her. Lily had her eyes wide. "Know you have your options open." Lily frowned. James ducked out and took Sirius away from Marlene for a moment. "I'm going up. Happy birthday, man. Love you." James patted Sirius on the back and walked up the boys' staircase.

Once he closed the door and locked it, he shouted, "Fuck!" He gripped his hair and pulled screaming. He sucked in a breath and fell onto his bed. He clutched his pillow and tears formed in his eyes. He sobbed and cried his eyes out for a long time. The music tampered off and James got up to close his curtains. He put up a silencing charm and grabbed tissues from his bedside table. He wiped his nose several times and continued to pour out tears.

"James?" Peter called out. James pushed his face in his pillow. Peter cracked open James' curtains. He found James who looked to have passed out right after he came upstairs. Not even bothering to change out of his clothes. Peter closed the curtain. "Out cold."

"He left in a hurry," Remus mentioned. James blinked open his tearful eyes and wiped them on his pillow. He sniffled.

"Maybe Lily said something to him," Sirius suggested.

"I don't know maybe," Remus said before he hummed in thought. There were the sounds of shoes coming off and the boys getting ready for the night. Many things dropped and crashed because of the alcohol in their systems. James cried himself to sleep.

…

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	26. Chapter 26

…

Rebound

…

James woke up with swollen eyes. He went straight into his workout after shedding his clothes from the night before. He was happy to see Sirius had already left. He didn't do all his exercises and instead he was in the shower before Peter was up. When James got out of the shower, Peter dazedly walked in for his own shower. James got dressed, threw a pillow on Remus' head, and walked downstairs. He tied his tie loosely on the way down the stairs. He bypassed the Great Hall and instead went to the kitchen. He tickled the pear fruit and a handle appeared. He opened the door and walked in to see several house elves making food.

"Hey, Minky," James greeted. "Can I have a plate of your delicious eggs and bacon? You make is so wonderful," he cheekily said. Minky nodded quickly at the praise and got to work. James waited at one of the tables. He ate his food there then walked to Potions. He was not looking forward to sitting with Lily epically since Eli Rosenberg was in that class with them.

He was first in the class. Lily walked in next and was floored to see him sitting there waiting. "I didn't see you at breakfast. Where were you?" she asked lightly.

"Didn't make it." James shrugged. Lily frowned.

"You okay? I… um. Did I upset you last night?" James left a prick in his chest.

"I'm fine," he answered purposefully avoiding the second question. Lily frowned. Did James actually feel for her? Was telling him she would be going out with another boy basically slapping him in the face while she rejected him?

"Hi, Lily," Eli said cheerfully. James pulled out his textbook and started to read it, actually read it. "So… I know we're on for the second November Hogesmeade trip, in two weeks, but what about taking a walk around the Black Lake around sunset, just before dinner, tonight?" Lily looked to James for a moment. He was completely focused on the textbook in his hands. Lily turned back to Eli.

"That sounds like fun," she said smiling. Eli grinned. He leaned in awkwardly and kissed Lily's cheek. Lily blushed slightly and turned away as Eli walked to his own table.

"So if we have one more session with the potion tonight, we can finally be on track with the rest of the class," James said finally looking up. "This part in the book tells us how to speed up the green to blue process." James said pointing at the part of the book he had seen. Lily looked it over.

"Can we do it tomorrow night?" she asked with a cringe. James looked up at her completely confused having not heard her conversation with Eli. "I have a… date tonight." Lily furrowed her brow slightly.

"Oh." James pulled away from her and scooted his book back to be only in front of him. "Oh… have fun." James retreated to his side of the small table. Lily watched him closely. He had been acting strange since she told him about Eli. She'd have to talk it over with the girls. She had told them about Eli last night but hadn't told them she mentioned it to James during the party.

Class went moderately well. James was one hundred percent focused on the tasks they were given. He didn't small talk at all. He didn't even laugh when Sirius' potion blew up in his face. Lily felt reassured when she spotted the corner of his lip curl upward, though. Then they were off to Charms. In Charms he sat as far away from Lily as possible. He didn't even sit next to Sirius or Remus. He tucked himself in a corner and took actual notes, Lily noticed.

During Lunch, Sirius, Remus, and Peter confronted him at the end of the table. Sirius and Remus boxed him in and Peter caught his attention across the table. "What's wrong, Prongs?" Sirius asked.

"What?" James mumbled through a mouthful of food.

"You've been acting weird. Haven't poked fun of anyone. Haven't talked to us. What's wrong?" Remus asked. James shrugged.

"Just…" He shrugged.

"What did Lily say last night?" Peter asked. James stopped chewing and blinked. "I saw you talking to her. You were happy one minute then the next you were… gone."

"Eli Rosenberg asked Lily out and she mentioned it to me, after I asked her to dance." James clenched his jaw. Everyone was silent. "Again in Potions Eli asked her out for tonight, right in front of me." James fist whitened against his fork.

"Speed bag?" Sirius asked. James finally felt the anger.

"Hell yes." James stood and they rushed up to their dorm.

Lily watched the boys rush out of the Great Hall and turned to Dorcas, Mary, and Marlene. "I told James about my date with Eli last night," she spilled. She waited a beat then added, "After he asked me to dance."

"Ouch." Dorcas cringed. Marlene sucked in a breath. Mary whimpered.

"Are you trying to kill him?" Marlene asked. Lily frowned.

"I. I didn't think he'd care. He asked me to dance and it slipped out." Lily looked horrified. "He's been acting so weird since I told him. He wasn't at breakfast. He was a good student during class. Did I break him?"

"Well, kind of," Dorcas said. "He's basically in love with you. And you go and try to talk to him about your date with another guy. That's like…"

"Friendzoning so hard. That's rough. That's sorta mean. Are you trying to friendzone him?" Mary asked. Lily cringed.

"Maybe? I mean. I want to be his friend obviously. And I want to be with Eli right now, I think. If we have a good date. I don't know what I want."

"What makes you want James to be a friend and not a… more?" Dorcas asked. Lily knitted her brow.

"He. He makes everything completed. I feel tension in my gut when I'm around him, but at the same time I'm light on my feet. My heart tugs when he does shit, like almost anything. I feel happy at the sight of him but at the same time I feel pissed off because my happiness makes no sense. He so easily makes me mad, like way too easily." Mary and Marlene shared a look. Dorcas pursed her lips.

"Okay, so date Eli. See what that feels like. And at the same time try to figure out your emotions about James?" Dorcas shook her head at what she assumed was Lily's plan.

"Well… No. I'm going to date Eli and see how that makes me feel. And James. I'll just put that on the backburner or the friend burner." Lily grinned at her joke.

"Bad joke," Marlene murmured. Lily sighed.

"Okay, well. I'm fine being friends with James."

"Is that what you call your relationship? Friends?" Mary asked. Lily looked pointedly at her. "Honestly? You barely talk to each other and when you do half the time it's a fight about something."

"We're friendly," Lily defended.

"They are friendlier than they used to be," Dorcas helped out. Lily nodded. "Remember they used to only make contact when James asked Lily out and Lily hexed him. Or when Lily stepped between James hexing someone. And that usually resulted with someone being hexed or a screaming match."

"Oh, whatever." Lily scoffed and started to eat. The girls laughed.

"Eli's hot though. He's got that going for him," Marlene murmured. Lily smirked behind her fork.

"Good butt too," Mary added.

"Not my type, but I hear he's skilled with his fingers." Dorcas waggled her eyebrows. That issued stifled giggles.

Herbology was next and Lily made it a point to sit next to James. He stiffened. Sirius glared at her. "Where'd you head off to during lunch?" Lily asked.

"Speed bag," James answered through clenched teeth. Lily looked over him in confusion. Sirius motioned boxing against a speed bag.

"Oh. Irritations, getting to you?" Lily teased.

"Yes," James hissed. Lily narrowed her eyes.

"Okay." She looked around the room for someone else to sit with but only saw Peter, Marlene, and a Hufflepuff making a trio, and then Severus, and two other Slytherins making the other trio. She was stuck with half the Marauders.

"Lily, I have a question," Sirius said raising his hand.

"Yes, Sirius," Lily said in a dull voice.

"Why the hell would you tell James about your date with Eli Rosenberg after he asked you to dance?" he snapped. Lily was taken back. James shoved Sirius away from him.

"Shut up, Padfoot," he growled. Sirius huffed and slammed his hands down on the table.

"So I did upset you," Lily said to James.

"It's just not very kind to tell a guy about your date."

"So I can't tell any guy about my dates?"

"No. It's just," James stumbled. "I. I'm not the guy you talk to about that stuff. Sirius, or Peter. Or Frank. Remus even. Just not… me." He hung his head.

"Why? Is it because you?" Lily took a deep breath. "Do you still fancy me?" James froze.

"I'm not going to answer that." James shook his head.

"So what I did was wrong because you fancy me and I told you about a date I was having with another guy. I get that. But I'm sorry I didn't know that you fancy me. I thought you'd gotten over that and you wanted to be friends."

"Bullshit," James snapped. Lily's eyes widened.

"Mr. Potter, language!" Professor Sprout exclaimed.

"Sorry, but I'm calling bullshit, Evans." James turned to Lily.

"Bullshit?" Lily whispered. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Please, let's focus on class today," Professor Sprout called. Lily turned to the class.

"Bullshit, Evans. You know how I feel about you. I'm willing to be a nice guy and back off because you're with Eli now, but total bullshit that you didn't know I fancy you."

"Stop it, Potter," Lily hissed.

"No. Because I'm done letting you pretend I only ever asked you out because I was teasing you."

"Mr. Potter! Miss Evans! Do you need to leave?" Professor Sprout shouted glaring at them.

"Yes!" James stood and grabbed Lily's arm dragging her with him. Lily gawked at him.

"Take your belongings. Ten points from Gryffindor." James snatched up his bag and Lily grabbed hers. James stalked out of the classroom. Lily hung her head, but fury was in her veins. The second the hut door closed James twirled on his heel.

"Bullshit, Evans!" he shouted.

"Again, what the hell?! Why are you calling bullshit?" she shouted back.

"You knew how I felt about you, you know how I feel about you." James tossed his bag to the ground in anger.

"Well I'm sorry, but that's not the truth. I didn't know you felt strongly about me in that manner. I thought you were teasing me."

"How the fuck is baring your heart to the world when you ask someone out teasing? Do you know how much teasing I endured because I asked you out all the time? Do you know how horrible it felt to be called weak, idiotic, loser, and worse because I had the confidence to ask you out? Because one day, hopefully you'd realize I'm a good catch."

"Bare you heart?" Lily narrowed her eyes. "Really? Hexing someone and when I try to stop you telling me you'd stop if I go out with you, is not baring your heart, Potter."

"That was twice!" He held up two fingers.

"Baring your heart is a stretch for your offers." Lily rolled her eyes.

"I wrote poems. I recited poems. I gave flowers. I gave chocolate. Then I realized you were trashing the gifts and you were more embarrassed when I read poems or gave you something, so I stopped and just started asking you out."

"You didn't like me. And even if you did, you did a poor job of showing it." James groaned loudly.

"I'm sorry it's hard to show my affection. I tried to impress you, but that angered you. I tried to give you things, but that angered you. I tried everything to show you how I felt."

"You could have just walked up to me in private and told me." James laughed coldly.

"For some reason I thought you'd hit me in the face or laugh or hex me." He raised his brow. Lily wrapped her arms around herself. She bowed her head. That caused the top of her head scratching against James' chest.

"I don't want to fight anymore," she said quietly. James was breathing hard. He took a step back. "I'm sorry I want to be with Eli and not you. I thought we could be friends. But apparently you only wanted one thing from our so called friendship. So I guess we're out of each other's lives." James blinked.

"That's… that's not what I want." Lily frowned and raised her head.

"Then what do you want?"

"If I. If you don't want me that way." James took a deep breath and watched the sky. "You still want to be friends?" he asked.

"You were a nice friend," Lily murmured. James raised his brow and tilted his head to the side in agreement. "Will you be able to put the fact that I won't be your girlfriend behind you?"

"Yep." James nodded his head. He'd get her eventually, he told himself.

"So… friends?" Lily reached her hand out. James took it and smiled.

"Friends." They shook on it. They stood in silence for a while.

"So..." James started. "We have an hour left. What do you want to do?" James asked. He twirled around and lifted his bag onto his shoulder.

"Um… I don't know. This is the first time I've skipped a class." Lily looked around. James chuckled.

"We could ride a broom around."

"Don't have one."

"Right. You could borrow Sirius' he's obviously not using his." Lily shook her head.

"Don't want to make a fool of myself."

"Okay." James sighed. "Want to swim in the Black Lake."

"It's November!" James chuckled.

"Okay, okay, reasonable. We could go into Hogesmeade and get some butterbeer." Lily laughed.

"We can't go into Hogesmeade, Potter."

"Yes we can." James grinned. "I know of a secret tunnel that leads directly into Honeydukes. We could go in, grab a few chocolates, and then eat them in the common room while we discuss Potions work."

"Sounds good. Show the way." Lily smirked.

"Ooh. Evans, you in the mood to break some rules?" James grinned as if their fight had never happened. Lily hummed and grinned back.

James and Lily were laughing over chocolate when the rest of the group came into the common room. Based on what the rumor mill was spurring about them having a raging fight and tearing each other to pieces, they were terrified to come back to the common room.

"You landed on your arse? In front of everyone?" Lily asked through laughter. James grinned and nodded his head.

"And the worst part was I slipped in the mud and was covered in mud from my fall." James shook his head.

"What the hell?" Mary asked. Lily and James whipped their heads over to their friends.

"Yep?" Lily asked cheerfully.

"I thought you two would be attacking each other or doing the cold shoulder or silent game or something!" Marlene, Dorcas, Remus, and Peter passed by Mary going into the common room and sitting on the couch across from James. Alice bypassed everyone and squeezed in to sit next to Frank as he read a book on the largest chair in the common room. Sirius chuckled and sat down next to James on his couch. Lily was resting on her own chair. She flicked a chocolate wrapped at James and grinned.

"Mary, it's Lily and James. Hot and cold are their thing," Dorcas answered as she lifted her feet onto the coffee table. Mary sighed and sat down next to Sirius.

"I'd like to think we're more on the warm side with hot spurts every so often," James declared. There were many chuckles. Lily rolled her eyes with a grin plastered on her face.

…


	27. Chapter 27

…

Lily's Date

…

Lily's walking date with Eli had gone well. They'd talked about school, a little about their home lives, and mostly about how in the world Lily Evans became friends with James Potter. Lily had done a lot of laughing and Eli had made some pretty good jokes. So when they reached the Gryffindor portrait hole and Eli leaned in for a kiss, Lily was very willing. They had just deepened the kiss when the portrait hole opened and a first year squeaked. Lily pulled away and smiled shyly at Eli. Eli smiled back and slowly started for the staircase. But at the last moment they changed and he collided with the wall.

"You have to watch for that," Lily mentioned while cringing. Eli sighed as if he'd just lost all street cred and walked to the open staircase.

"How do I get to the kitchens from this one?" he asked. Lily started to walk toward him to tell him but that staircase moved.

"Just walk around until you hit the main hall! Gryffindors do it all the time. You'll get used to it," she called out. Eli looked very worried but at the same time elated.

"So Hogesmeade's still on?" he asked.

"You wouldn't have gotten a kiss if it wasn't still on!" Lily teased. Eli chuckled. Lily turned around and stopped in her tracks. Peter Pettigrew was in the portrait hole with wide eyes. Lily's eyes narrowed. "I swear, Peter, if you go blabbing to Potter about what just happen," she growled.

"Okay, okay," Peter murmured. "But can I tell Sirius?"

"No. You can't tell any Marauder." Lily shoved him backward so he walked with her into the common room. Peter stumbled but followed.

Two weeks later after one prank that resulted with three Marauders getting detentions, one hotdog day eating competition that resulted with James being crowned hotdog champ, and three days in which Lily was caught snogging Eli by Remus, Marlene, and Alice, they were off to Hogesmeade.

Lily spent an extra-long time on her hair, made sure her mascara was perfect, and popped her lips that were delicately layered in lip gloss. She walked through the gate with Mary and Marlene, but Eli quickly stole her away. Mary and Marlene were absorbed by Dorcas and Alice, who were tailing the Marauders.

"Lily seemed chipper," Dorcas said extra loud. James flicked his head back to look at them for a moment, then he slowed down so he was in the back of the pack of Marauders.

"Yes," Alice stressed.

"So, James," Dorcas pipped. James jumped and looked back at her. "What girl are you going after this time?" She tilted her head. James frowned. "You know. Lily's happy with another guy. You always go after your own girl…" Dorcas trailed off.

"I." James watched his feet and fell back so he was next to Dorcas. "I'm not doing that anymore," he said quietly.

"Why?" Mary asked.

"Um… I just want to focus on my friendship with her," he seemed unsteady with his words.

"So no distractions?" Alice asked. James nodded and ran a hand through his hair.

"I want to." James sighed and dared a look at his brothers. "I want to wait for her… to come to her senses. The fight we had a few weeks back. I told her I liked her, but I mean. Well…" He sighed again.

"You're waiting for her to realize she has feelings for you?" Dorcas suggested.

"I mean. If she does. She does?" he stumbled.

"She has feelings for you," Marlene said nodding her head. "Just the other day she told me there's basically butterflies in her stomach when she's near you. And she feels…" Marlene took a moment to gather her thoughts. "Connected to you in a way. I don't know how to explain it. She explained it well, in a certain way that doesn't really make sense but does at the same time."

"Then why is she dating Eli?" James asked with an edge to his tone. Sirius turned at James' exclamation.

"To get a good snog," Sirius answered swiftly. James blinked. "And eventually a good shag. Depending on how long she'll take to give him that. But I mean. She's shagged before, right?" Sirius asked the girls.

"Um…" They looked to each other.

"That's got to be a yes," Sirius chuckled.

"We don't know," Dorcas lied.

"Yeah right. Girls tell each other everything," Sirius shot.

"I mean. I don't know," Dorcas lied.

"I don't," Alice caught on.

"I'm not at liberty to say… especially since Lily keeps most of her intimate life private," Mary lied.

"All I've heard is Eli's a good kisser. That's basically as far as she told me when she was with David," Marlene lied. James felt relief for the girls. Sirius narrowed his eyes at them.

"Sod off, Padfoot," Remus said hitting Sirius in the arm. "Leave Lily's business alone. Otherwise I'll tell everyone how many girl's you've shagged." Remus chuckled. Sirius went red.

"Knock it off, Moony!" He shoved Remus. Remus laughed loudly.

"Really, Sirius?" Dorcas asked. "You're a virgin?"

"Please!" Sirius exclaimed. He turned around and didn't look back. He walked straight into Zonkos. James chuckled.

"So is that a yes?" Dorcas asked James. James shrugged.

"It's a yes. He'd totally be bragging if he'd done it," Alice figured.

"Not saying that." James smirked.

"Well it's not like it's a big deal for guys. It's just for girls. So tell us," Mary shouted.

"Go ask him. Or rather." James put a hand on Mary's shoulder to stop her as she'd made it a few steps toward Sirius. "Marlene, go ask." He nudged his head in Sirius' direction as they entered the store. Marlene chewed her bottom lip but went after Sirius.

"Fuck off," Sirius said before he turned around. "I'm not speaking to any of you."

"Not even me?" Marlene asked. Sirius twirled on the spot. He furrowed his brow.

"Not if you go and tell the rest of those twats!" he shouted the last word at the group. The group sniggered. A few first years gawked his way. Sirius rolled his eyes at them.

"I won't. I'll make up a lie," Marlene said. Sirius narrowed his eyes. Marlene sighed. "I pinkie swear." She held out her pinkie. Sirius took it in his own pinkie finger.

"I've only trusted James with this. But… I've only made it to third base. I tried once but the girl… she…" He sighed. "She got scared and I just… I was nice and just… cuddled her. I mean. I tired another time with another girl. But… it was over the summer and her parents came home and she freaked. I had to jump out the window." Sirius shook his head. "It's not like I haven't tried or wanted. I… I." Sirius sighed and turned away from Marlene.

"It's okay, Sirius. I haven't either. I'm less experienced than you are. I've never made it that far." Sirius shot a look at her. Marlene gave him an innocent face. "Honest," she whispered. "Just ask Lily or Mary. They'd tell you the truth. I'm still a virgin."

"But… you're so." Sirius quirked his lips to the side. "Such a go getter when it comes to guys." Marlene raised her eyebrows and shrugged. "But you've never?" He arched one brow. Marlene shook her head. Sirius let out a breath of air.

"Good. I mean. I know we're not dating or anything, we're just fooling around when it comes to… stuff. But. I was afraid you'd want more and I'd be… Eh." He cringed. Marlene laughed.

"No. No. I don't want more." Marlene wrapped her arms around his shoulders and gave him a hug from behind resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Fuck," Alice swore. She turned away from Marlene and Sirius.

"What?" Dorcas asked turning to look at what Alice had been surveying. "Shit," Dorcas swore.

"What?" James turned smiling.

"She's not telling us anything," Alice murmured. She picked up a biting Frisbee and tossed it a little further down the table. James laughed and turned back to the self-shuffling cards. Alice narrowed her eyes. "You know, you prat?" she accused. James shook in laughter.

"He knows what?" Remus asked.

"He knows if Sirius is a virgin or not," Mary answered. Remus laughed.

"Of course he's not a virgin. He's had like three conquests," Remus replied. Alice, Mary, and Dorcas narrowed their eyes at him.

"If he's not a virgin why is Marlene hugging on him like he's lost his puppy?" Dorcas asked motioning to Marlene swaying with Sirius. Remus looked over and frowned.

"I don't know. But I know he's not a virgin. Pete, back me up." Peter stumbled over and popped his head in on the group.

"Back you up with what?" he asked.

"Is Sirius a virgin or not?" Mary asked.

"Oh. …" Peter thought about it. "I mean he's come to us a few times and said he's fucked some girls, but he's never completely confident in his words. So… I truly don't know. Maybe he's ashamed of it a little bit when he says it and that's why he's not fully confident. But… I don't know." Peter shrugged. Remus sighed.

"James, just tell us," Alice begged.

"Shut your mouth, Prongs," Sirius ordered having brought Marlene with him. James chuckled and walked to the counter to pay for a deck of cards.

"So," Dorcas asked Marlene.

"All he told me was that he's not telling anything until we're an actual couple." Marlene rolled her eyes. Dorcas and Mary sighed deeply. Alice narrowed her eyes.

"So are you a couple then?" Alice asked. Marlene looked at her as if she was insane. "You were hugging on him earlier. What was that for?"

"He told me I looked good. Which I do," Marlene lied.

"She looks fantastic," Sirius said quickly after. Marlene smiled a thank you. Alice rolled her eyes. Dorcas sighed. James pocketed the cards and left the store. The group followed but immediately ran into him as he hadn't taken more than one step out of the shop. He was frozen. Across the street just outside of Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop was Lily and Eli wrapped around each other lip locked against a wall. James was barely breathing.

"Come on, James," Dorcas said softly grabbing James' arm and tugging him along with the group to The Three Broomsticks. They sat down at a large round table. Dorcas sat next to James and watched him breathe deeply for a moment.

"Was that the first time you've seen her kiss another guy?" Dorcas asked softly. James' eyes popped open. He opened his mouth but quickly looked away from Dorcas' eye and closed his mouth.

"No," he said watching Peter's hands for a moment. "I saw her with David and George. But…" James shook his head.

"This one hurts more? Because you're friends now?" Dorcas asked. James nodded in a daze. "Eli's just a phase. She's told us that much already." James knitted his brow in confusion.

"What do you mean?" he asked quietly leaning in. They were in their own little world.

"Well." Dorcas took a breath. "The day after she told us about Eli. The day she told us about how she let it slip to you…" Dorcas pursed her lips. "She said she was having trouble with her feelings toward you, and Eli was simple. She felt attraction to him." James winced. "Well, come on, James. He is a good piece." James sighed and looked away. "You are too," Dorcas added. James nodded a thanks. "But… don't you see? You confuse her but Eli's just a phase. To get her energy out and…" Dorcas moved her hands.

"What?" James snapped. "Play with me so I feel horrible too? So I feel confused too? Because everyone tells me she likes me. Or she has strong feelings for me. Or whatever. But has she ever told me that? No. So I'm sitting here not taking a date from girls who ask me on one, because I think it'll show her I'm serious. I'm I just an idiot?" James took a breath. Dorcas blinked.

"You love her, right?" Dorcas whispered. James rested his chin in his hands. He stared at the table intently. The butterbeers came and were passed around. He took one hand off his chin and used it to mess with the foam on his butterbeer.

"Yes," he hissed. "I've tried not to. But… I just do." He shrugged. Dorcas smiled sadly. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"James, I know falling in love is confusing and I'm sure you've already had the confused stage. I'm sure that was a long time ago. But Lily is just recognizing those feelings as good ones. For a long time they were associated with anger and hate. But now, since you're friends, she's seeing that she still has those weird feelings around you. And that's scaring her and making her want to run as far away from you as possible. But she'll come around."

"Why can't she just avoid me at all costs? Why does she have to run into another guy's arms?" James gripped his butterbeer and took a drag.

"Because falling into lust is far too easy. And right now she can focus on the lust she's feeling rather than the love she's feeling." James bowed his head. He started to chuckle a little.

"How do you know so much about love?"

"Simple." Dorcas unwrapped her arm around him. "I've falling in love plenty of times. Never as intense as you and Lily or Frank and Alice, but it's happened."

"Alice and Frank?" James narrowed his eyes. "They aren't just a… um… doomed because they're young?" Dorcas laughed loudly. She covered it with her mouth. Alice sent her a stare. She shook it off.

"I don't think so. But see. Alice told me about how she and Frank fell for each other. Frank was basically her side piece or whatever you want to call it for two whole months. She refused to go on an actual date with him. He had figured it out before her. They'd been 'dating'." She air quoted. "But she made them stop. Stripped it down to the lustful ways. Almost tossed Frank aside. She went on dates with other guys, but never him. But she kept him to sooth her sexual itch. She didn't want to be falling in love. She thought she was too young to feel that deeply for him, to be thinking of forever and a day with him." James frowned. Dorcas went on.

"See… some people don't think they're ready for happiness or they're scared to feel so happy so young, because there are so many stories of young love dying, or being doomed as you said. So they run away from it, they seek it in forms that won't last. Until they have made peace with the fact that they are young and in love and it might last forever, they can't face it. Lily can't face it yet." James' frown relaxed.

"So…" James caught Dorcas eye for a beat before letting it go. "This is Lily's short relationship before she dives into a long term one?" he asked. Dorcas didn't move. She stared at his hands on his glass. It took a minute before James asked, "What? What's wrong? Did I say something?"

"I… I didn't know you were thinking long term." James' brow dipped at her words.

"Really? I thought that was obvious. What did you think I was thinking?" He tilted his head. Dorcas looked up at him.

"I just… thought you'd want Lily in whatever way, for however long." She shrugged. James looked down and thought about it for a moment.

"I." He sighed. "I'd be happy with anything, yes, but I want long term. I want to grow old with her, have kids, and grow a life. Over the summer I asked her about the future, after the war." He smiled. "She mentioned a rose garden and a swing on the porch." He chuckled. "We even talked a little about it. I wanted London, but she wanted a garden. So I said I could go for the country. She said there were London houses with small gardens. It's almost like we planned our future without even thinking of it."

Dorcas smiled with him but hers was slightly off, sad. James finally looked back at her and frowned slightly. Dorcas patted his arm. "If you keep being that mature guy we've been seeing, Lily will come around eventually." James nodded.

"That's what everyone says," he sighed.

"She does like you. Remember, she's just scared of the big feelings. The big feelings you're used to." James nodded hopefully.

…


	28. Chapter 28

**Sorry I haven't posted in so so long. I've moved into college! Been a rough few weeks.**

…

Hufflepuff vs Ravenclaw

…

Lily spotted Dorcas pulling out her Hufflepuff gear and gasped. "Who's Hufflepuff playing today?" she asked.

"Ravenclaw," Dorcas said before a yawn. Lily's excitement immediately ran out the window. Eli's house was Ravenclaw.

"Shit," Lily whispered. Dorcas blinked at her. "Eli's in Ravenclaw. As a girlfriend I'm supposed to support him. So…" Lily dove onto the ground and started digging under her bed.

"You could just bet him that your team will win against his. That what you'd do if it were James." Lily scoffed.

"Please. As if that will ever happen." Lily pushed around a few things and spotted the yellow of her three Hufflepuff scarfs, four hats, and two t-shirts. She tossed her old Gryffindor shirts, hoodies, scarfs, and hats to the side and finally spotted her one Ravenclaw hat and scarf. She smiled and snatched them.

Dorcas laughed as Lily pulled them on. "You're telling me that when you dated David Wright, a Hufflepuff, you never had a bet."

"I love that house. We never had betting games." Dorcas snorted.

"What about the Hufflepuff Gryffindor game?" Lily twisted her lips. "Uh huh. That's what I thought. What'd you bet?" Lily smiled dirtily.

"What'd you think?" she raised her eyebrows. Dorcas smirked and laughed.

"Blowjob or … conalingus?" Lily laughed loudly throwing her head back but nodded through her laughter. Dorcas laughed with her. "Oh, Lily. What do you call it?" Lily bent down with laughter.

"Going down under," she said in an awful Australian accent. Lily started to cry. Dorcas snorted through her laughter.

"Really?" Lily nodded. Dorcas rolled her eyes. They left to the dorm and were welcomed with majority Hufflepuff garb.

"What happened to all Hufflepuff, Evans?" Sirius called out. Lily sighed.

"Eli's a Ravenclaw," Lily replied a little worriedly. She folded her notebook into a circle.

"What happened to rebellion?" Sirius asked raising a fist.

"I chose Eli." Lily crossed her arms over her chest. She noticed James was sporting an AC/DC shirt and a brown jacket underneath a dark green trench coat. "Potter, not choosing a team?"

"Gryffindor, all day every day." He flashed her a closed lip smile and ran a hand up through his hair his other hand tightly gripping a notebook.

"Where's your ink and quill?" she asked. James let out a breathy chuckle. He reached in the pocket of his brown jacket and pulled out one of her pens. "Hey! That's mine." She reached to snatch it out of his hand, but he pulled his hand back and over his head out of her reach.

"No. See. The moment I stole it, it became mine." James narrowed his eyes. Lily glared at him for a moment. Then everyone was moving out of the common room. James raised his brow. Lily blew out a breath of air, twirled on her heel, and followed the rest of the group.

"Why do you entice her?" Remus wondered.

"Because it's fun and it gets her all riled up. And her eyes go livid and her nose crinkles a little." James grinned wide. "No one else does it as well as me too."

"You're an idiot." Remus walked off to join the crowd.

"You going to take notes during the games?" Peter asked falling into step with James. James scratched the back of his head.

"Yep," he replied with pep. Peter nodded seriously.

"Can we sit with the girls you think?" James furrowed his brow. He took a second glance at Peter.

"Um… You'll have to persuade Sirius into it. I'm up for it."

"Even though you have to sit with Eli Rosenberg?" James paused mid step for a moment.

"Right. No. That's fine." James nodded. Peter narrowed his eyes. "It doesn't really matter. I'll be watching the game the whole time. Keeping notes." Peter nodded. "Hufflepuff's probably going to win. Best team. Besides Gryffindor and… I guess Slytherin since they beat us. I mean. Ravenclaw's good. But. Not as good as Hufflepuff. I'd." James sighed. "Okay, it's the worst team out there right now, to my knowledge. But that could change this game. New season. New team. But. The captain kept almost everyone on the same team. One player's new. The…" He snapped his fingers. "The seeker."

"Hmm." Peter narrowed his eyes again.

"Yeah. It's a sixth year. A girl. Um… Don't know her name." Peter sighed.

"James, I don't care."

"Oh. Okay." James nodded. He closed his mouth and stared ahead. He ran a hand through his hair.

"What do you talk about with girls?" Peter asked out of the blue. James blinked at him.

"Um. What do you mean? Like any girl? Girls I like? Girls' I want to hook up with? Girls' I'm in love with?"

"Um... any girl?" Peter cringed.

"Well. I talk to them like they're guys. Well. I leave out the fart jokes, burps, I try to talk more about my feelings, I don't cuss unless I'm really close with them, I try to find things they're interested in and ask them about it, and I… I don't know. I'm nicer than I am with guys. Not as standoffish."

"So… do you know what Mary likes?"

"I don't actually. All we ever really talk about is me. And Lily. She tells me a lot about Lily. We talk about how we get prank ideas. Sometimes she'll ramble about a book while I sit there. I don't actually listen; I just nod or hum or say yeah or something like that. But she either doesn't notice or doesn't care. I guess she listens to me ramble and I listen to her ramble." He shrugged.

"What about with Marlene?"

"Quidditch. Sirius. How Sirius is annoying as hell but lovable somehow. Brooms. Quidditch teams. Mostly Quidditch. She'll strike up a conversation about someone we know and we'll talk about that. I don't know, Peter." Peter nodded.

"What about Alice?"

"How Slytherin sucks. How Ravenclaws are annoying. How Hufflepuffs break their stereotypes in the most annoying ways. How Lily's mind works. How people think. Why people think a certain way." James motioned his hand to start rolling as if to say and that sort of stuff. Peter nodded.

"Dorcas?" James sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Um… we talk about. Everything and nothing. Any subject that comes up. I mean. Alice, Lily, Remus, Sirius, you, and people in general. We talk a lot about our childhood. Peter this isn't easy. You don't think about what you talk with people."

"Sorry, I know. It's just. You can talk to anyone, and I can't. I just. How do approach somebody to talk." James sighed.

"You walked up to them and ask them a question. The conversation just starts from there. You're both obligated to hold a part of the conversation. Whomever you're talking to will help you out. If you stumble, you just have to say something anything. And it will help. You can't just grunt or nod or something. Just talk." Peter nodded.

"So. Just like talking with you?" Peter asked. James nodded.

"Potter! Eli says you're a spoil sport for not picking a team!" Lily shouted. James felt a fire inside.

"Why doesn't he say that to my face?" he shot back in an easy tone. He caught a glimpse of Lily's smirking face before she disappeared in the crowd. They made it to the Gryffindor section. James had hoped that Eli would take Lily with him to the Ravenclaw section, but he happened to sit with them.

James grumbled but just opened his notebook and made a few starting notes. Lily herself was started to pull her notebook up onto her lap. Eli looked down and frowned.

"No. Watch the game with me," he pleaded. Lily frowned at him.

"I'll watch the game. I just…" she didn't want to tell him the truth. "I write usually during the games too." Eli frowned deeply.

"Can you just for today watch it with me instead?" He held his hand out. Lily sighed, tucked her notebook under her feet, and held his hand.

"And their off!" came Sirius' projected voice. "Price O'donnell of Hufflepuff has the quaffle." The group roared. Lily flinched in excitement but stayed quiet because beside her Eli was huffing in disappointment. "O'donnell passed to Paige Sinclair. Sinclair flies down the pitch. Oi! A bludger aimed by Hollis Hewitt hits her broom. She's spinning out of control. The quaffle's out of her hands. It's falling. It's falling. It's falling." McGonagall hit him on the head with her wand.

"Fhhew! Quinn Blackburn of Hufflepuff catches the quaffle. Okay." Eli gripped Lily's hand and growled.

"Why can't he be unbiased?" he snapped at her. Lily looked at him with a furrowed brow.

"He's just being a commentator. And that was basically the least biased he's going to be the whole game." Eli huffed and turned back to the game.

Peter shouted at the top of his lungs, "Go Blackburn! Go! Baby, go!" He clapped his hands hard and just screamed. James flicked between his notebook and the game, writing quickly.

"Blackburn's at the goal posts. Parley Hargreaves is at the ready. Blackburn fakes to the right and ha! Hargreaves takes it. Oh merlin." Sirius barked out in laughter. Eli gripped Lily's hand tight. She squeezed him lightly.

"Relax. They're just up ten. Ravenclaw might still win," Lily urged. Eli huffed like she was insane.

"Ten points to Hufflepuff!" Sirius whooed into the microphone his wand created. Remus whooed loudly and stood. He adjusted his Hufflepuff scarf and pulled his hat back a little so it wasn't in his eyes. Frank and Dorcas stopped tossing Bertie Botts beans into each other's mouths long enough to whoop in excitement. Alice and Mary turned to each other and whispered for a moment before.

"Hufflepuffs never bluff, Hufflepuffs are never rough, but Hufflepuffs score enough!" they chanted again and again. Lily kept wanting to join in as she helped make the chant, but Eli was busy grinding his teeth.

"What Ravenclaw chants do you have?" she asked lowly.

"Ravenclaw was first to crawl, Ravenclaw make the rules of law, so why wouldn't Ravenclaw be the first to draw?" Lily frowned a little. "It's not the best, but it's hard to rhyme claw."

"What about instead of first to draw you say and Ravenclaw will never withdraw," Lily suggested.

"Want to try?" he asked. Lily nodded.

"Ravenclaw was first to crawl, Ravenclaw makes the rules of law, and Ravenclaw will never withdraw!" They chanted.

"Lily!" Mary whined. Lily rolled her eyes. They went on chanting for their separate teams back and forth.

"Oi! Shut up, Evans," James snapped. "I can't hear Sirius commentate." He was red in the face and he was sending an icy glare toward Lily and only Lily.

"I wasn't the only one chanting, Potter," Lily snapped back.

"Yeah, but you're the one who came up with the damned things." James clenched his jaw. Lily's hands turned into fists.

"So you're going to blame the creator for the actions of others? So I guess I should blame your parents on your rudeness," she seethed. James turned his body toward her.

"Shut up about my parents," he ordered.

"Why are you going to write them a letter complaining? What could they possibly do, Potter? Tell Dumbledore? Use their money to fix the issue of you being tease, huh?" Lily was sitting up a little straighter.

"Lily," Alice murmured. Mary looked back and forth from James to Lily with a worried gaze. James was breathing hard.

"I thought you were above that," James whispered.

"What'd you say, Potter?" Lily asked with a sly grin on her face.

"I guess I'm an idiot because I thought you'd never sink that fucking low." James turned away from Lily. Lily sank back in her seat.

"Lily, are you okay?" Eli asked. Lily nodded and smiled at him. "Was that a…" Eli furrowed his brow. "What was that?"

"A little row, nothing. Just. Let's listen to the commentary." Lily took Eli's outstretched hand and squeezed it a little. Mary and Alice shared a side eyed glance. James huffed deeply before he started to scratch on his paper.

After a few hours, when Eli went to snatch a few pieces of candy from a friend he knew was selling, Lily tapped James on the shoulder. He turned his head slowly. Lily mouthed the words, "I'm sorry." James stared blankly at her before he turned back to his notes. Lily sighed. Lily stood up and got Mary and Alice to scoot down.

"I'm sorry, James," Lily murmured. "I used knowledge I shouldn't have to hurt you. Childish. I. I didn't mean it."

"It's fine," James quickly said.

"Really?" Lily asked.

"Yeah. It's fine." James didn't look up.

"I'm sorry I broke our truce." James nodded. "I wasn't thinking. It just popped out of my mouth."

"Lily, I get it, okay. I know. Heat of the moment. I really get it. You don't have to apologize anymore. Okay? I'm good. It was in the heat of the moment. I. I don't know why I said I thought you were better. It was a bad shot."

"But I am better than that." James shook his head.

"Not with me. And that's okay. I get you riled up and I expect to get come back. So. It's fine. I'm used to it."

"We still have the truce?" Lily held out her hand.

"Still have the truce." James shook her head. Lily smiled at him and he smiled lightly back. Then Lily stood and returned to her seat just as Eli came back with a few pieces of candy.

"So I didn't know what you liked so I got just got some sugar quills." Lily smiled wide at him. "Good choice?" he asked. Lily nodded and started to suck on one.

"And Hufflepuff with another ten points!" Sirius roared. "That makes it one hundred and ninety to seventy, Hufflepuffs leading." Sirius sighed deeply and adjusted himself. "Okay. So far Newton Fitzgerald Hufflepuff's seeker is still high up there, just a little larger than my thumb if I put it to the sky. Meanwhile Felxis Bruce Ravenclaw's seeker is low to the ground near the Hufflepuff posts." Sirius paused to hum for a moment.

"Mr. Black, commentate please," McGonagall spoke sharply. Sirius flinched in his seat.

"Quinn Blackburn of Hufflepuff is busy guarding that quaffle. Ouch! She takes a charge from Norns Martin of Ravenclaw. But she seems to keep the quaffle in hand. This game seems to be going on forever. If only someone would spot the damned snitch by now." McGonagall's wand hit Sirius in the head. "Ow! It's not my fault all I see if Hufflepuff scoring over and over on Ravenclaw. It's getting plain boring," Sirius drawled.

Eli huffed. "If we score two goals and catch the snitch, we'll win. It's not like they're up that much."

"They're up a hundred and twenty points, Eli," Lily said with pity. Eli scrunched his face up.

"So? Like I said two goals and the snitch."

"I mean. Ravenclaw's not had the best offense today."

"What are you rooting for Hufflepuff now?" Eli snapped. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"No!" Lily groaned. "I'm just saying. It's kind of hard to believe they'll win today."

"Yeah, well I still have hope left." Eli turned a little away from her. Lily rolled her eyes and crossed her own arms over her chest.

"Ellis French from Ravenclaw sends a bludger right into Blackburn's back! She's lost the quaffle. Sinclair picks it up for her and races to the Ravenclaw posts. Fitzgerald suddenly hawk dives! Has he seen the snitch? Ohup, Bruce is rising fast." Eli sucked in a breath. Lily's eyes snapped over to him. "Fitzgerald takes a hard left, Bruce tailing just a breath away." Eli gripped the bench. Lily looked down at his hand.

"Bruce over takes Fitzgerald! Oi." Sirius cringed. "A bludger just passed Felxis' ear. Man! That was close. Fitzgerald and Bruce are shoulder to shoulder. Where's the bloody snitch?" Sirius looked squinted in front of the two seekers but could see nothing.

"It's a foot in front of them, Padfoot!" James shouted. Sirius nodded.

"Any minute now." Sirius's attention was stolen for a moment. "Hufflpuff's scored once more!" Eli sighed deeply and hung his head. Lily let go of a breath, relaxed her arms, and pried his hand off the bench. "And the seekers dive!" Sirius roared. "Merlin's beard! Ravenclaw's still racing down the pitch to the goal posts. Hufflepuffs seems not to care as they're letting them go. What?"

"What?" snapped a voice. Lily's head whipped to her right. James was glaring at the Hufflepuff captain. "Put up a damned fight, Marsden! Don't be a poor sport!" James stood and gripped the railing.

"We're up a hundred and thirty, Potter," Skip Marsden said flying up next to James.

"Don't be an entitled dick. Play the game." James' eyes were slits. Skip rolled his eyes.

"Sod off. You'd do the same thing. It's only fair to them."

"It's the exact opposite of being fair!" James shouted. "You're purposefully giving them points. Play the damned game!" James sneered at the boy on the broom.

"To just crush them? Isn't that just mean?" Skip was sending a similar sneer to James.

"No. What's mean is giving them pity points," James spat.

"Ravenclaw scores! The snitch is going wild. Left, right, up, left, right, dive down, up." Sirius took a deep breath. Lily watched the game with wide eyes. Eli had a deep frown set on his face. "I can't believe this! Ravenclaw scores again!" Sirius barked laughter out. Eli sucked in a breath and seemed to sit up straighter.

"Back to only a hundred and ten points. We could tie it up." Eli squeezed Lily's hand. "Get the snitch, Felxis!" Eli cheered. He raised one fist and pumped it.

"Damnit," Skip snapped. "O'donnell, what the fuck are you doing? Get the quaffle!" Skip roared. He zoned down a bludger and aimed straight for Felxis Bruce's outreached hand. Skip closed one eye and bit his lip. James sank into his seat.

"O'donnell snatches the quaffle out from Ward's hands," Sirius beamed. "Hufflepuff's back in the game." There was a loud screech of pain. Necks cracked with the speed of heads moving to the seekers. Felxis Bruce held his left hand in his right and had blood scattered on his blue robes. "Nasty bludger to Bruce's hand. Don't think he'll recover. Oh. He seems to push through the pain. Reaching out with his right hand." Sirius murmured sounds of being uncomfortable with what Bruce was doing.

Eli's grip on Lily's hand became extra tight. James had returned to his notebook. His little tiff with Skip Marsden seeming to have no effect on him any longer. Everyone seemed to be on the edge of their seats. This could tie the game up. Everyone's cheering got silent. Baited breath seemed to be the normal within seconds.

Both seekers had their hands outreached.

"And Fitzgerald raises a fist! Bruce relaxes his arm. Hufflepuffs won it! Hufflepuffs won!" Sirius shouted.

What felt like the whole of Gryffindor raised to their feet and roared along with the Hufflepuffs. Eli sunk even deeper into his seat. Lily looked longingly to her friends. Alice and Mary hugged before Frank pulled Alice away and sucked her into a kiss. Dorcas jumped on Remus' back and shouted in his ear as he laughed brightly. Peter held his fists by his face and shouted mouth wide. Lily spotted a faint smirk on James' lips.

"Potter, thought you didn't have a preference," Lily called out. James looked up at her through his eyelashes.

"I don't." He raised his brow at her. Lily tilted her head to the side and gave him a look. He knitted his brow at her. He opened his mouth to respond more, but Eli stood and James noticed their woven hands. James cleared his throat and collected his notebook. Lily remembered her own before following Eli from the stands.

Just as they passed Dorcas and Remus, Dorcas wrapped Lily in her arms. "We won!" Dorcas cheered in Lily's ear. Lily let out a laugh, slung her arms around Dorcas' waist, and tilted them back and forth. Lily grinned widely knowing Eli couldn't spot her face. Dorcas pulled away and Lily dropped her smile. Eli gave Dorcas a cringe smile. Dorcas waved at them and turned back to Remus who had begun showering Peter in Bertie's Beans. Peter happened to be acting as if he was in a slow motion movie.

Lily and Eli walked back with the crowd of half bored Slytherins and disappointed Ravenclaws. Lily continually looked behind her for some of her friends. Eli seemed rather depressed actually.

"Eli it's just as game. You and I both know that you could actually still win the cup even if you lose your first game," Lily tried to lift his spirits.

"Thanks for trying, but that's not really the point," Eli huffed. He led them through the crowd and up toward the tower.

"Well then what is the point?" Eli shot her a fixed brow. Lily sighed. "What's the point of getting really upset? It's not going to change the past."

"Can you just let me be sad?" Eli had almost shouted. Lily blinked. She stopped walking and stared at him. Eli let go of her hand and groaned. "I didn't mean to sound like that." He huffed and looked at the ground to Lily's left. Lily quirked her mouth to the side. "You know. Sometimes people can just be a little upset about things for a while."

"I know that," Lily said steadily. Eli huffed.

"Well that's just what I'm doing, alright?" He reached a hand out to her. Lily stared at it for a minute before grabbing it.

After a few steps, Lily offered, "Want to rant?" Eli hummed for a few paces.

"Well yeah. I know our team wasn't the greatest, but I mean… did like all your house have to cheer on Hufflepuff?" He shot Lily a look.

"I don't know." Lily shrugged. "I wasn't one of them."

"Yeah, but still that was annoying. Another thing. Sirius? He sucks as an unbiased commentator. Like seriously. I know he's bad when it's with his own house, but for two other houses, that aren't his houses rival. He should have been more unbiased. And Potter." Eli scoffed. "The nerve he had to tell Hufflepuff's captain to play the game. That was Hufflepuff's choice. Potter cost us the damned game. We could have scored another two points, _and_ that bludger would have never hit Felxis. We would have won!" Lily felt a dread growing in her stomach.

"You know those are my friends you're talking about, right?" she asked lowly. Eli looked to her with innocent eyes.

"Oh. No. That's fine. Just." He smiled and shrugged. "You said I could rant. I thought." He tilted his head. Lily pressed her lips together before nodding. "Right. So. Like. Think about it. If Potter hadn't told Skip to go play the game, which he was ready to stop just because he figured we wouldn't be able to get back the points." Eli rolled his eyes. "Which. He really wasn't thinking. We just needed a few goals before we could have tied or won with the snitch." Lily found herself daydreaming about something else.

Then they were at her portrait hole. Eli kissed her cheek. "Want to sit together on the train tomorrow?" he asked.

"Um. I already promised the girls' I'd sit with them. But I'll see you at Kings Cross, right? We can say goodbye then?" Lily offered.

"Oh. No. Usually my parents find me within seconds. So." He looked to his feet. "Goodbye for now?" He tilted his head. Lily smiled softly. She leaned up and kissed his lips softly. Eli cupped her cheek and kissed her a little more firmly. Lily pulled away first. Eli grinned at her. She smiled back, before turning around and telling the Fat Lady the password.

...

 **As always thank you for reading.**

 **Also thank you for reviewing, favoriting, or following and thank you if you start to do any of those after you've read this chapter.**


	29. Chapter 29

**Happy Holidays Everyone!**

...

Start of Christmas Break

…

Sirius woke first. He collected his things slowly. He wasn't looking forward to going home. Usually he'd stay at Hogwarts, but his parents had sent him a letter the week before break and told him he was expected home for break. James had to remind Sirius that his house was open any time, any day, whatever the issue. Sirius sat on the edge of his bed and waited for someone else to wake.

James flipped onto his back and threw his arm over his eyes. Sirius knitted his brow before he crawled out of his bed and stood over James. But James was fast asleep. Sirius laid down and shoved James over. James grunted but scooted over to allow Sirius to lay beside him. Sirius stared at the canopy of James' bed.

"What's wrong?" James finally asked in a hoarse voice. He didn't move his arm from his eyes.

"We go home today," Sirius quietly said. James moved his arm down beside Sirius'. He let out a long breath.

"I'm not kidding, Pads. I'll make sure my floo system is open all day, all night. If you can't use floo, grab your broom. We're only a few hours. And if you have to, stop by a Muggle city and call us on our telephone. That's always on. If you can't fly anymore cause you're cold or you just can handle it. Stop by the street. Point your wand at the curb. The Night Bus will come get you, tell them to go to my house." Sirius nodded silently. James turned onto his side. He cradled his head with his arm.

"I don't want to go, James," Sirius whispered. Tears gathered in his eyes. James stared at the side of his face.

"You don't have to. You can send a letter home. Tell them you're never coming home." Sirius felt a hot tear burn down to his ear.

"I never signed up to stay at Hogwarts."

"Come to my house," James quickly supplied. Sirius felt more tears fall. He sucked in a rumbling breath.

"I. I can't," Sirius choked out. James looked down to their feet. "I have to." Sirius closed his eyes to try and stop the crying. "I have to face them. One. Last. Time." James raised his free hand over Sirius' chest. Sirius opened his eyes and smiled slightly. He took James' hand and was met with a fierce grip.

"You come to me at any sign of trouble. Don't unpack your trunk. Keep it closed and ready to go." James squeezed extra hard. "I'll always be here, Sirius." Sirius nodded. He still hadn't looked at James' face.

"Can. Can we talk?" Sirius looked out of the side of his eye to James. James had his brow furrowed. "Through the mirrors?" James' face cleared.

"Anytime. Call out to me if you need to. I might be flying or talking with my parents or a neighbor, but I'll always leave that conversation for you." Sirius let out a long sigh.

"It helps knowing." Sirius paused and looked back up to the ceiling.

"Yeah," James sighed. Sirius shook his head not having finished his sentence.

"That Lily's going through the same thing." James' grip loosened.

"What?" he chirped. Sirius was now the one with a furrowed brow.

"You haven't heard?" he asked. James frowned deeply. "She doesn't want to go home either, but she does because of her parents. I mean. At least she's got some good people at home. But she doesn't want to go see Petunia or Petunia's boyfriend. Lily's scared and worried. She doesn't want to go home to the bullying and the tension." Sirius turned back to the ceiling. "It's not from everyone like with me. But. I mean Regulus never really bullies me, but he lets it happen. Her parents. They love and comfort her but they… they often let Petunia bully Lily." James rolled onto his back. Their hands stayed gripped together but they hung between their bodies.

"I didn't know," James said softly. He waited a minute before saying, "Does everyone know?" Sirius shook his head.

"Just Marlene and Mary. I think Alice might have a thought about it. But she doesn't know about the panic attacks Lily has just thinking about going home." James sat up and let go of Sirius' hand. He pulled his knees up, dropped his elbows onto his knees, and held his head in his hands. Sirius jumped a little and pulled himself into a crisscross position. They were silent for a while.

"Why can't people just be nice for Godric's sake?" James grumbled. Sirius messed with the he  
m of his pajama pants.

"Some people just aren't, James." James nodded with a sick little chuckle.

"I know." James ran his hands through his hair. He looked up across the room. He crossed his arms over his knees. "I just can't understand why the fuck those people have to mess with _my_ people." James threw his blankets off his feet and stood. Sirius watched with a raised brow. James opened his previously packed trunk and dug a little before he found what he wanted. He tapped his hands up and walked over to the speed bag. "I think I'm going to ask for a hanging bag for Christmas. You know. Shrink it into my trunk and then unshrink it and hang it up in that corner." He pointed to the corner where the weights rested.

"Peter and Remus aren't awake," Sirius said looking back at his sleeping mates. James had one fist raised ready to beat. He sighed deeply.

"Great," he grumbled. He started to unwrap his hands. "I mean. I love the speed bag, but I can't get solid punches on it. And I really don't think Lil would find it pleasant for me to start using human beings as punching bags." James shook his head with another sick chuckle.

"When you said, 'my people' did you mean?" Sirius tilted his head. "Is Lily yours exactly?" Sirius frowned. James looked up at him with a shocked face. "I mean. I think if you're going to give her up as property I'd say anyone would really say she's Eli's. But then again she's not property. Neither am I. … Are we your sorry cases that you take in? I mean? The werewolf, muggleborn, out casted blood traitor, tiny anxious kid? Are you just trying to fix us all up so you can go find more sorry cases?" James' mouth was now open.

"What?" he asked completely thrown off. Sirius stepped off James' bed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"What did you mean by 'my people', James? To me it sounds rather possessive." James rolled his eyes a little before rubbing his hands over his face.

"Sirius," James sighed. Sirius narrowed his eyes. James ran his hands through his hair. "I just meant people I loved. People I care about. I wasn't saying I owned you or anything. My people was just a way to say the people I want to protect. All my friends, but especially my close friends." Sirius stared at the floor for a moment. "You know I love you right?" James leaned over to try and catch Sirius' eye. "I've said that before, right?"

"Yeah, just. I didn't know you love me as much as you love her." Sirius scratched behind his ear. James frowned.

"It's a different kind of love, Pads. Like you know friend love and um." James cleared his throat. "Wanna be girlfriend love, but yeah. I love you as much as I love her." James nodded.

"Oh." Sirius' face had now relaxed as he stared at the floor. James looked to the side before he sighed looking to the ground. He walked over and gave Sirius a hug. After a few seconds Sirius wrapped his arms around James. Then after a few more seconds Sirius said after clearing his throat, "This is a bit awkward." James tensed. "You're only wearing boxers, mate." James jumped away. Sirius barked out laughter.

"I'm taking a shower." James grabbed a towel and marched over to the bathroom leaving a laughing Sirius.

"Moony," Sirius sang. He walked over to Remus' bed and shook Remus' shoulders.

"Fuck off, Sirius," Remus replied.

"Aww, Moony. You don't mean that." Sirius jumped on top of Remus. Remus groaned loudly. "Wormtail, wake up you little shit!" Sirius barked. Peter moaned before he opened his eyes. Sirius raced off Remus and leered over Peter.

"Why are you smiling?" Peter asked. He squinted up at Sirius.

"Because I'm loved," Sirius sang. Peter huffed. "Let's go eat!" Sirius started to get dressed. "Moony, don't you dare go back to sleep!" Sirius warned. "Wormy, get up, get dressed." Peter sighed deeply before doing as he was told. Remus rolled onto his stomach and tried to fall back asleep. Sirius got out his wand and transfigured Remus' pillow into an oar.

"What the fuck?" Remus exclaimed.

"I told you, you shouldn't dare," Sirius sniggered.

Reluctantly, the three of them got dressed. By the time they were getting their shoes on, James got out of the shower. "Wha?" James looked at Remus who had in his sleepiness chosen one of James' jumpers and Peter had James' five times too big Chucks on his feet. "I was going to wear that," James said pointing to Remus' chest. Remus looked down.

"Oh. Sorry." He took it off and replaced it with a maroon one of his own.

"And I was going to wear those." James pointed to his shoes hanging off Peter's feet. Peter opened his eyes to see what James was pointing at. His cheeks turned pink when he looked down at his feet. He handed over the shoes to James. James quickly placed his black jumper on over his undershirt, rolled into his black jacket, slipped on his jeans, and fumbled into his black Chucks.

Lily was already at the table when the Marauders came down. Remus sat on one side of her and Sirius slipped into the other side. James thumped down in front of her with a small smile. She looked up from her few drowned pancakes with a flat face. James kept his smile and she smiled back, but he noticed her usually vibrant green eyes were dark.

"How are the pancakes?" James asked quickly. Lily blinked a few times.

"Um… good." She suddenly remembered she was supposed to eat and she took a big bite. James took some for himself.

"Pads." James sent Sirius a threatening look. Sirius sighed and got his own plate of pancakes. Remus gingerly reached for some French toast. Peter found some bagels and lathered a lot of cream cheese on it. "Where are the girls?" James asked.

Lily rubbed her nose before saying, "Marlene and Mary are asleep. Dorcas and Alice are packing. Theodora and Samantha are over there." Lily pointed down the table to the two laughing girls. James nodded.

"What are your plans?" he asked gently. Lily sighed and took another bite. She chewed for an extra-long time.

"I'm going home. We have dinner with Vernon," she snarled, "in six days. My Grandmother is coming down a little after the dinner. She's staying for three days of Christmas. Then I get to spend time with my Dad's Mum and Dad for four days. Then it's me, Mum, Dad, and Petunia for a while. Then it's New Years', and then two more days till we're back." Lily smiled with her teeth. James nodded.

"Well my family usually throws this Christmas ball. Just a few days after Christmas. It's kind of a mash between Christmas and New Year's. If you want, you can come to that. If your parents' let you. There's always a nice band that we get to play a few newer songs, and we always have a good time with forgotten liquor and distracted parents." James grinned widely at her.

"Sounds a lot like my parent's New Year's party. But. I don't know. I'll see?" She tilted her head. James nodded.

"You'll get an invitation in a few days. I'll put you on the list." Lily frowned. "My parents' are all formal about it. Dorcas always comes and sometimes Alice. Frank showed up one year. Sirius tried to go last year, but he um… Well."

"Dickwad parents told me I wasn't supposed to associate with blood-traitors," Sirius sneered. Lily smiled sadly at him. He flicked his fork like it was no big deal, even though it was a very big deal.

"Anyways. There's always a few people our age dragged to these things. Pureblood parents always want to try to get their kids to mingle and make connections at a young age." Lily nodded.

"Can I go, James?" Peter asked finally waking up.

"Yeah. Well. I have to ask Mum. It's nothing against you or anything. It's just. When I told her Sirius was coming last year she went on and on about us not doing anything that proper gentlemen wouldn't do. She was freaking out. I got the idea that she thought we were going to do a prank. I had actually asked if all of you could come last year. She said only Sirius because she could control him." Sirius scoffed. James chuckled. "She gets the idea that you and Remus," James said to Peter, "are the masterminds of all our pranks." Peter frowned deeply.

"Did you tell her that?" Lily asked accusingly.

"Well. When we were little. Um. I would get howlers. And she talked with Remus' Mum a few times. And they both agreed that it couldn't have been either of us, but she noticed Remus' Mum wasn't as completely sure."

"My Mum has a hunch that I'm the mastermind of all the pranks." Remus rolled his eyes, but smirked. "But at the same time she thinks I could never do such horrible things. I've never gotten a howler cause she's a Muggle, but I've gotten angry letters of threats. My Dad doesn't think anything of it. Apparently he was always up to something at school too." Remus grinned brightly. "Must run in my genes."

"Yeah well, my Mum picked up on that and took it as you were actually the mastermind. Especially when she met Sirius. Whom she called a sweetheart." Sirius laughed. "So the only real solution in her mind was you, Peter."

"You didn't tell her I barely partake in the activities?" Peter roared. "You just let her believe I'm awful. What the actual hell?" Peter stood up and raised his arms above his head. James giggled, Sirius broke out into laughter, Remus sniggered, and Lily just dropped her jaw. Peter crossed his arms over his chest. "What?" he growled.

"This is so not you," Remus stated simply. Peter glared at him.

"I'll get you an invite, Peter," James said. Peter huffed and sat down.

"I don't even want to come." He shoved his bagel into his mouth and reached for a second one. James placed a hand on Peter's shoulder.

"I'll send you two then." James smirked and shoveled pancake into his mouth. Peter mumbled something incoherent and was not willing to repeat it once asked. Dorcas came down and quickly reached for a few pieces of toast and jam.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"James' parents' ball," Sirius answered.

"Are Marlene and Mary up?" Lily asked. "Because I'm really not in the mood to go wake them up."

"Yeah, they're up. Alice saw a spider and started screaming. I picked it up and let it fall to its death out the window. Mary was not happy to be woken up with blood curdling screams. Marlene jumped up ready to fight a murderer." Dorcas laughed a little. "You should have seen her. She had hair in her face and couldn't see a thing." Dorcas sighed in her laughter. "It was funny."

"I want to sit with the girls today," Peter announced.

"Oh, come on, Wormy. I'm sorry. I'll tell my Mum the truth," James whined.

"I just want to sit with the girls. Is that too much to ask?" Peter snapped. James sighed.

"What do you want for Christmas?" James asked. Peter blinked.

"Are you going to give him a gift to just fix the issue?" Lily asked with a grimace on her face. "That's low, Potter." James blinked.

"But," he tried.

"We'll have too many in our compartment if we have you Peter," Dorcas stated.

"Then let us take Marlene," Sirius exclaimed.

"No!" Remus barked. "I don't want to have to watch you two snog while James and I play chess all day."

"Yeah, I'm in agreeance with Remus. I don't want Marlene in our compartment. If you want her, get your own compartment."

"Fine. I just might." Sirius puffed up his chest. As if he'd planned it, Marlene came down and chugged a goblet of orange juice. "Marlene, want to get our own compartment?" he asked.

"Not for the whole trip, right? For like twenty minutes maybe."

"Oh." Sirius' shoulders dropped. Marlene shrugged and picked up a few pancakes. "Well then we'll take Lily," Sirius announced again.

"What?" Lily choked out. She started coughing and holding her throat.

" _Anapneo_ ," Remus said quickly without thought. A piece of pancake flew out of Lily's mouth and onto her plate. Lily took a deep breath.

"You okay?" James asked. Lily held up a hand to him and turned her head to look at Sirius.

"Why do you want me?" Lily asked Sirius. Sirius looked at her with a furrowed brow.

"Obviously you're the second choice," he said simply. Lily frowned. She dropped her hand and forgot about James. Sirius sighed at her frown. "Okay. You can have a conversation with all three of us separately without awkwardness, you're funny, you're easy to talk to, we can tease you and you don't get all weird had silent or hate our guts. It's a good match."

"Thank you, but I was looking forward to reading comic… magazines." Marlene rolled her eyes knowing the truth.

"You can do that with us. We just need a fourth person," Sirius urged.

"So I'm just a body now?" Sirius sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Fine. We'll ask Mary!" Mary looked worried as she sat down next to Peter.

"No!" Peter exclaimed.

"Oh Merlin. What do they want to ask me?" Mary groaned covering her face. But everyone was looking to Peter with confusion on their faces. Remus seemed to understand first.

"If you want to be the bait for a prank right now," Remus said quickly before anyone could answer. Mary wrinkled her nose.

"What's the prank?" she asked.

"We're going to dangle you in front of those Ravenclaw boys, then when they approach you we'll shower then in rain. Simple prank. Easily done. Just need a distraction." Mary looked to the two Ravenclaw boys and sighed deeply.

"What would I have to do exactly?" The boys looked at each other.

"Flirt with them," James suggested. Mary cringed.

"Then, no. Not really in the mood. My hair didn't turn out right this morning and I'm feeling…" she trailed off thinking how they didn't need to know about that.

"That's alright," Remus said quickly.

"Maybe Alice will," Mary trailed off. She waved for Alice. "Hey, Alice. Will you help the boys out and flirt with those Ravenclaw guys." She pointed them out. The boys sucked in breaths.

"No! It won't work," Sirius shouted. Alice sent him a startled look. "You…" Sirius paused.

"Everyone knows you and Frank are a steady thing," James added. Alice smirked and sat down.

"Why would I flirt with them anyways? They're not really worth flirting with. Both of them are oddly for Ravenclaw a pile of rocks in the head." Alice flicked her hair behind her shoulder and sat down. Frank was sitting at the top of the table. He hopped out of his seat and jogged down. He kissed her head before sitting next to her.

Their sweetness was about to get overly annoying when Dorcas jumped up and announced, "Time for the train." She promptly set off down the hall without waiting for anyone.

"Shit," Alice swore. Frank frowned at her. "We were being too sickening." Frank sighed and his shoulders fell.

"She just leaves when we're getting annoying," Frank supplied for the group.

"That's rude," Mary stated.

"Not really. At first she endured it, then she asked us to talk with her, then she told us blatantly, and now… now she's just given up," Frank answered. Alice had already left to make amends.

"Can't you just not ask each other questions in almost baby voices?" Remus asked as if it was an obvious solution.

"We try! We just. It must be habit now. And sometimes it's not even the weird voices. Sometimes we're just talking only with each other, or we're finishing each other's sentences. I don't know. We're still in what people call the honeymoon phase."

"I think by now it's just habit, Frank," Lily said wrinkling her nose. Frank sighed and nodded.

"I'm going to go back to my friends. Dorcas and Alice usual get in a little spat then make up and then they attack me about being an idiot. I'll come find you girls later." He smiled before he caught up with his friends.

"Well I've been done for a while, so I'm ready to leave," Lily said looking around the table. James stood, Sirius jumped up, and the rest followed. But as the rest followed Lily down the hall, James and Sirius pushed their plates aside and jumped onto the table.

"Time for the train!" they shouted together. James did a quick backflip off the table.

"JAMES POTTER!" Minerva McGonagall shouted at the top of her lungs. James laughed hard as he ran away with Sirius. When they caught up with the group, Sirius grabbed Lily's arm.

"Lily's coming with us," he declared.

"What am I getting in return?" she asked.

"Christmas presents?" James asked. Lily frowned then she grinned in thought.

"I want the opposite," she announced. Both of them frowned. "Over the summer you said you had Christmas gifts planned for me. I don't want them. That's what I get. Don't give me gifts." Both of them scoffed. "Please," Lily begged. "Don't give me gifts. Please, please, don't."

"Okay, okay," James said. "We won't get you gifts… in return that you sit in our compartment." Lily nodded excitedly. "Wormy," James called. "You're with the girls." Peter grinned nice and wide. He was walking closely with Mary and talking about something or another. "So what comic-magazines do you read?" James asked tilting his head. Lily's cheeks went a shade of pink. "You read comics?" he asked.

"Yes," Lily seethed. James smirked.

"So do I. I read Quentinius the Sorcerer." Lily frowned. "Um… how about Salsar the Swedish Short-Snout?" Lily laughed and shook her head. James frowned deeply.

"I read Muggle comic books, Potter." James' mouth formed an o. "So Spiderman, the Hulk, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four."

"No magic?" James asked scratching the back of his neck.

"No. I mean. I deal with magic every day. Why would I want to read more about the stuff I study? I read about normal people, Muggles, who have strange things happen to them that give them super powers. They're really strong, they can climb walls, they turn into this huge monster, they are really stretchy, they can light on fire, they can turn invisible, they're gods from another world, they can change so they're really tiny or really big, it's endless," Lily spoke with speed paused by quick breaths.

"That sounds interesting. But I can turn invisible." James smirked.

"Not without your cloak, you can't." James' face fell but he nodded. They boarded the train and found a compartment.

"Is Eli going to come looking for you?" Sirius asked as they sat down.

"I don't think so. We said goodbye last night." Lily crisscrossed her legs and pulled out one of her comics. James almost dove to sit next to her. Remus sent him a glare and started to set up a chess board. James looked over Lily's shoulder at her comic book.

"They don't move," he whispered.

"Muggle, remember," she whispered back. They read a few pages with James' head almost on her shoulder before Lily backed away from him and sent him a glare. "Can you not?" she asked. James tilted his head. "It's annoying with you breathing on me."

"But they're so good! I want to read them! Do you have one I can read on my own?"

"I thought you were going to play chess with me," Remus exclaimed holding a queen in his hand. James looked from Remus to Lily. Lily scoffed and returned to her comic. James pleaded with Remus silently for a moment. "Sirius, switch places with James. I'm playing you." Sirius huffed, uprooted from his seat, grabbed James by the jumper, tossed him a little dramatically off the bench, and took his place. James dove into Sirius's seat.

"Do you have an extra one, Lily?" James asked sweetly. Lily paused for a beat at the sound of her given name. Once she recovered, Lily opened her bag and showed six comic books.

"Treat them very well. If you hurt them, I will hex you." James nodded quickly and chose one with what appeared to be a man in red and blue, trapped under something with water coming down. The title was "The Amazing Spider-man the Final Chapter!" James quickly opened it and read it.

When he was finished, he stared at the last page for what seemed like ages in his mind. Then he looked up at Lily. She was biting her finger as she read. Her hair was falling down around her, having grown longer over the past six months. He blinked a few times, smiled a little, then he kneeled in front of her.

"Lily," he whispered. Remus and Sirius flicked their eyes toward him before shaking their heads and returning to their game. Lily looked up after she finished reading a sentence. She furrowed her brow at his position. "This was amazing! Just like the title said it was! Spider-man. Like. It's. …" He looked around the compartment. "I need to read more." Lily laughed a little and motioned to her bag.

James replaced the comic in his hand and took out another one with Spider-man on it. This one had Spiderman fighting a different man in a yellow and green suit. It was called "The Amazing Spider-man the Birth of a Super-Hero". James quickly read through it and found another Spiderman comic book inside Lily's bag. This one had a black and white Spiderman and a yellow and orange man about to fight. It was called, "The Amazing Spider-man Cloaked in Darkness, Spidey Faces the Mystifying Menace of The Molten Man! Also in This Landmark Issue: _You Won't Want to Miss_ Peter Parker's Graduation".

After finishing that one, James dug through Lily's bag but found no more Spiderman comics. "Lily," James said in a whiny voice. Lily looked up at him with annoyance in her eyes. "Do you have any more Spiderman?" Lily sighed deeply.

"I'm reading one. Let me finish. Read one of the others." She returned to biting her finger and reading. James picked up a Fantastic Four comic book and started to read it, but just couldn't get into it. He found himself constantly looking up at Lily.

"Lily." Eli opened their compartment door. He smiled wide at her then looked around the compartment and his smile dropped. "What are you doing?" He looked back to Lily.

"Oh. Peter wanted to sit with the girls. Think he was mad at James and the rest of the guys plus he got to spend time with girls. Don't know." Lily waved her hand. "Anyways I was traded for Peter. And also the boys can't get me any Christmas gifts, so all's well." Lily smiled. Eli frowned.

"I didn't get any of that." Lily waved her hand. "What are you reading?" He stepped closer to see what she was reading but she quickly closed it and stuffed it in her bag.

"Magazine. What did you want?" Lily uncrossed her legs. She noticed James slowly tug her bag over to him. She sent him a glare and used her foot to drag it underneath her.

"I wanted to know if we could talk over some liquorice wands or something." Lily's shoulders sagged. "No, no, not that." Eli quickly said. "I just wanted to see you. We'll be apart for a few weeks." He smiled.

"Sure. Is there an open compartment or do you just want to talk here?" Eli looked around. Remus and Sirius were resetting their chess board and James was flicking his eyes between what looked to be a comic book and Lily's bag.

"What would you like?" Eli asked instead. Lily smiled.

"I think there's a free compartment a few down." Lily picked up her bag. James stood immediately.

"Evans," James quickly said. "Can I borrow that… magazine?" Eli eyes sent James something that was half glare half quizzical look. Lily felt her palms sweat. Her comic book addiction was something she liked to keep private, very private.

"What do you want to do with a girl's magazine?" Lily asked holding her bag a little closer. James gave her a dull look before flicking his eyes to Eli who seemed to be asking the same question.

"Well," James started looking between his two questioners. "I." He sighed. "I don't have a girlfriend right now and you said there was an article about how to pick up guys. I thought maybe I could translate that into my situation." Eli held back a laugh. Lily smirked at his quick thinking.

"Okay, werido. But you have to give it back exactly as you got it."

"I see the trolley. Meet me there?" Eli asked. Lily nodded and let out a breath of relief when he left.

"Seriously, Potter? How to pick up guys?" Lily laughed and handed him the comic book he wanted.

"I had limited time, Evans. Give me a break." James gave her a cheeky smile and quickly sat back to read another adventure with Spiderman/Peter Parker. "The Amazing Spider-Man, 'If This Be My Destiny' Dedicated to You The great New Marvel Breed of Reader!" James whispered. Lily snorted. James' head shot up to look at her flushed face.

"Don't ruin this one. It actually. It's the beginning of the story arch for what you first read. So you know the ending of it, but… it continues from there. It's a long story. Have a good read." Lily ducked out.

"Wait." James was hanging out of the doorway. "Where can I get more of these?" Lily paused in her walking to turn around to face him.

"Go find your local Muggle comic book shop," she whispered. James nodded with a grin. "And I'll kill you if you spill my secret, Potter," she snipped. James laughed and walked back into the compartment.

When she reached the trolley, Eli had bought a few liquorice wands, a few cauldron cakes, and two iced pumpkin juices. "What was that really about?" he asked as they walked into an empty compartment.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked as she sat down.

"I mean. Does James really need girl advice?" Lily looked at him then down at her liqourice wand and popped it in her mouth. "Or is he gay?" She did a double take then spit out her food.

"Is he gay?" she asked loudly. Eli leaned back away from her. Lily laughed loudly.

"I mean. He's always around Sirius. They seem really close. A little too close. Like I've seen them hug and once I swear I saw them hold hands during class. I've heard they were a couple at one point. They talk about clothes sometimes, for a long time. They're obsessed with how their hair looks. I just. I can't really tell if they're gay or not. So is he? Would you know?"

"He's _not_ gay, Eli. Neither of them are. They're just really close friends. I don't know what to say. I mean. That joke about being a couple. That was a long prank. Honest, it was. The holding hands during class, I don't know what that was but… James. James is not gay."

"So Sirius is?"

"No. I don't think so. I think they're both straight. I know James is straight, but I'm pretty positive Sirius is too."

"Pretty positive?" Eli asked.

"You never truly know if someone's gay or not, Eli. _You_ could be gay and you're just trying to convince yourself your straight by dating me. I could be gay." Lily laughed again. "I'm not, but. You get my point?" she asked.

"I guess. But. You're sure. He. They." Eli narrowed his eyes. "I guess I just have to trust you on it. You're their friend." Lily nodded her head. She laughed again and leaned against Eli's chest.

…

 **Hope you've had a wonderful holidays and if you haven't had a holiday hope you've had a wonderful day. Comments, questions, reviews, follows, favorites, anything would be appreciated. Thank you to anyone who has done so in the past. They tend to make my day brighter and they always make me smile even if its a critic because I know it shows you care. I'm sending my best wishes for all of you who are continuing to read this long and never ending it seems story, wow I'm impressed. You guys have made it through a majority of what I'd call a book. So give yourself a pat on the back. There is more to come in due course. Reviews and reminders are** **appreciated, but I do tend to eventually remember to keep up with this because I know here I find people who love the same characters I do. So have a good day, everyone. And be excited for the adventures that awake this group of friends.**


	30. Chapter 30

**Hey! I'll post randomly from now on but I will post.**

…

James to the Rescue

…

James woke and looked at his clock. It was noon already. He smiled wide and rolled back onto his back. He loved sleeping in long and hard. For the past four days he'd gotten all his sleep back. He was usually a morning person but whenever he was home, he was a late sleeper. He slowly got dressed and came downstairs to find a letter had come for him.

" _James Potter_ ," was scrawled in neat but quick handwriting. He opened it half expecting it to be from Peter who had finally responded about wanting to meet up over break, even if he didn't want to come to the party. But James' brow lifted when his eyes jumped to the signature.

" _Lily Evans_."

" _Potter,_

 _My sister has been driving me nuts. I need to get out of this house. Over the summer you said if I needed a magical fix I could come to you. I don't know if that still stands, but I need it now. Even if I have to take back the deal about the presents. She's being awful and it's not only her. Her boyfriend, who doesn't even know I'm a witch, treats me just plain weird. Like I'm an idiot all the time. And I can't say anything but something nice because then Petunia bites my head off the second he's gone and we get into a screaming match and I accidentally sting her and she says all witches should have been burned ages ago. And. … I'm crying here, James. I wouldn't ever come to you unless I really needed someone. I wouldn't tell you all these things, but I suspect Sirius told you what I told him about my home life. And I need a friend. I know I can't go to Sirius because of his own home life. Over letters we've talked and helped each other, but I need to get out of this house away from these people and into a safe magical place._

 _Please, respond quickly. My parents and sister are gone for the day for something to do with Petunia's boyfriend's family. I told them I was sick, cause I basically am. I wrote Marlene but she's in Thailand and Mary's in Ireland. And Alice and Dorcas don't know the extent and I'm not ready to tell them. Sirius says I should go to you and I trust him. He said that you told him the door was always open. I have no method of getting to you, but over the summer you said you could get to me and take me to your place. Would that be okay? Just for a while. Not the night or anything. Just until I can calm down some._

 _I'm sorry there are tear stains._ _I couldn't_ _Please ignore them._

 _Respond ASAP_

 _Lily Evans"_

James felt his heart beating out of his chest. He ran up to his room and grabbed his invisibility cloak. He called out to his mother and father, but neither were in hearing range or they weren't home. So he quickly scribbled a letter for them. Then responded to Lily's.

" _Lily,_

 _I'm on my way. I'm coming. I'll use my invisibility cloak to cover myself and my broom, then we'll do the same on the way to my house. I can cover both of us and my broom. And if it can't, I'll use a charm, fuck the rules. If they come back, stay in your room. I'll ask for you. Your Mum should remember me, hopefully I made an impression last time. And if that boyfriend who doesn't know is there, I'll tell him I'm a friend from boarding school and I want to take you out for the day, that my Dad dropped me off from his car and we'll be fine walking. I'll walk you to a safe spot and we'll fly off from there. I'll keep my broom under my invisibility cloak in my hand the whole time, so you don't have to worry._

 _I'll be there soon._

 _James_ "

He quickly set off after giving the letter to his owl. He told him to go on. Over the summer, James had plotted the flight to Lily's house, and one day when he was bored he and Sirius actually flew over, but Lily's family wasn't there, so they flew back home. So he knew the route.

Lily heard an owl pecking at the kitchen window and she opened the window for it. " _Lily_ " was scrawled in tilted messy but readable handwriting. She ripped it open to find a very reassuring letter. She patted her eyes with a tissue and started to blow her nose until it had stopped running. She thought about changing into proper clothing but decided to just lay on the couch and wait. But then she remembered she had no idea when her family would be home, so she went up to her room and cuddled up in bed.

Lily woke to loud knocking and faint yells. She jumped out of bed and raced down to the door. She opened it to James. James looked down at her with concerned eyes. He instantly wanted to hug her. Her eyes were swollen and her nose was red.

"How long was the flight? I fell asleep?" Lily asked with a croak in her voice. A smile tugged at James' lips at the sound of her voice.

"It was fine. Hour and a half. Just. Thought of ways to get your sister back. Hexes, jinxes, simple pranks, elaborate pranks. I was a little worried my feet would show, but I kind of wrapped it around the tip of my wand and held on for dear life. There was plenty of room for you to join. No problem there-." Lily's hand gripped James' jacket and she pulled him inside and closed the door quickly. "What? You okay?" he asked. His hands cupped her elbows.

"Yeah, just. Neighbors were leaving their house. I didn't. I didn't want them to see you. Sorry." She looked down.

"It's okay, understandable. We left my cloak and broom outside, though. You want to pick it up?" Lily looked out the window and watched the family leave. James noticed she was wearing green and blue plaid pajama pants, and a superhero graphic t-shirt. "Are you in pajamas?" he asked with a chuckle. Lily grunted, then opened the door, waved her hand around before she felt it and pulled the broom and cloak inside.

"Yeah. I slept in pretty late. My Mum came in really early to ask if I wanted to go with them to Vernon's family thing. I said I was feeling a little sick. Mum asked one more time if I was sure I was sick, and I told her again I was." Lily shook her head. She went into the kitchen for a moment before coming back with a pen and paper. She wrote a quick note to her parents.

"What are you writing?" James asked. He looked over her shoulder.

"Just telling them I'll be at your place for dinner."

"Oh. Yeah. My parents would be happy to have you for dinner." Lily cringed deeply.

"Sorry, I should have asked."

"No, it's okay. I left my parents a cryptic note saying I was off to get a friend out of trouble and would be back with said friend. I might have mentioned your name, don't remember. In times of distress you don't always think correctly." He shrugged. Lily nodded.

"I'm going to change. Will it matter what I wear?"

"Don't think so. Just, casual." Lily nodded and raced up the stairs. She pulled out a skirt and then a pair of trousers. She went for the trousers thinking of the broom ride. Then she looked at a one of her nicer turtle neck jumper or her old favorite gray jumper. She went with the gray one. She pulled on a blue scarf and her black coat before pulling on her blue Chucks. She slumped down the stairs and saw James looking at old family photos.

"You had such a weird smile in this photo," he said pointing at her grimace smile.

"Shut up. Let's go." James twirled around.

"Blue scarf? No Gryffindor pride?" He pulled at his Gryffindor scarf. Lily sighed deeply. James hummed lightly. "I like your jumper, just zip up your coat before we get outside. It's nippy." Lily nodded. James went for the front door, but she stopped him.

"Out the back window."

"Really? We can just go underneath the invisibility cloak." Lily's gaze was steady. James sighed and let her lead the way to the back window. "Couldn't you just transfigure the window into a door?"

"I will once I turn of age, now stop complaining." Lily went out first then James tripped out. Lily closed the window and faced James. He uncovered his broom and sat on it leaving room for Lily to sit behind him. Lily stared for a moment before joining him. He carefully turned around and placed the cloak over their heads. He raised the broom off the ground so he could get the hem of the cloak in his hands underneath the broom, then he grabbed both ends of the cloak and turned it into a bubble of sorts.

"Wrap your arms around me," James gently ordered. Lily hesitated before her hands wove around his waist. James kicked off the ground and they were rising. They were silent for a while, but Lily couldn't take it.

"What were your plans for the day?" she lightly asked.

"Um… I didn't really have any. Yesterday I visited the boxing center, I sparred with this big guy and I lost. The day before that I flew out to the gym and practiced a few new tricks, and showed off to this little kid. He was with his… his older sister I think. She was using the, the bouncy thing. You had a word for it. They use that word."

"The trampoline?" Lily suggested.

"Yeah, yeah. She was on the trampoline and he was." James hummed. "He must have been four or five. He had these. Oh!" James looked back at Lily with a big smile. "At the start of break, I immediately went down to our local Muggle town to look for a comic book store. They didn't have one. But the next day I went to the gym it's like forty-five minutes away, but it's right next to all these shops. And one of the shops is a comic book store. So after my workout I looked around the little shopping center and found it. Well I didn't have any muggle money on me so I just looked around. There were so many Spiderman comics. I had to ask the guy behind the counter which ones I had read and which ones I should read. He told me I wanted the older ones, and he showed me them. So the next day I went and bought like fifty comic books." James flashed his teeth.

"Fifty!" Lily exclaimed. James nodded.

"Yeah. They guy was really excited. I said I really liked Spiderman. He said he had a few um… action figures and toys coming in closer to Christmas. That I should come back and buy some stuff. I'm so excited. I don't know. What toys would they have? I'm used to you know… magical toys. So will they be. What? Um." James slumped a little.

"He's probably talking about masks, action figures, maybe fake webs, stickers, posters, t-shirts, all sorts of things. Toys mostly are like action figures."

"What are those?"

"They're little figures."

"Do they move around like Spiderman would?" James gasped. "Do they shoot webs at people?"

"Uh, no. They don't move at all. Sometimes you can move the arms and legs a little into certain positions, but not much. And they don't move on their own. When I said fake webs I meant like plastic things that look like webs, or maybe silly string as webs."

"Silly string?" James turned to narrow his eyes at her. Lily smiled a little.

"Yeah. It comes in a bottle. You shake the bottle, then you point it at something or rather someone and you press the little nozzle and this foam stuff comes out. It's actually a lot of fun."

"You'll have to show it to me some time."

"Maybe that will be your Christmas present."

"I thought you said no presents." James frowned deeply.

"For me! Tuney already makes fun of me enough. I don't want to be opening magical gifts in front of everyone and she's sitting there ready to kill me because I quote ruined Christmas once again." Lily rolled her eyes. "The girls gave me their presents just before we left. I left them at Hogwarts. Eli said he was going to give it to me right when we get back, because he doesn't want to mess up my birthday. But that doesn't really matter. It's at the end of the month anyways."

"Can I give you a Christmas present back at Hogwarts?" James' voice was hesitant.

"We already had a deal," Lily said without thought. She didn't really want his old broom. Plus she didn't think she was actually okay with him giving her something. "No. I was looking for stuff to give Eli and, I'll probably stop by Diagon Alley quickly before we leave just to get him something. But I figure I could get you, Sirius, Remus, and Peter some Muggle pranking things. Woopee cushions, silly string, hair dye, itching powder, all that good stuff. Just make it a big care package. And then give each of you something little that only you would like. Like a book for Remus, something soft for Peter, black nail polish for Sirius, and a mirror for you." James snorted.

"Ha ha, Evans. Just for that I'm picking you up something extra special. A New Year's gift, I'll call it."

"What is it?" Lily's voice was wary. James' mind was thinking fast.

"Actually can we go through a list of things you might like, for future reference?" Lily let out a little high hum.

"Okay," she sang. She scooted up closer to him, feeling as if she was about to hit the end of the broom. Her hands pressed on his flat stomach. His muscles flexed against her. She smirked a little.

"How do you feel about jewelry?" he asked a little tensely.

"Um." Lily laughed nervously.

"Like. Do you like to wear it? I notice you wear bracelets sometimes, or a necklace, but it's never too much or stand out ish."

"I. I don't want it to pop out and be noticeable. I like to tuck my necklaces under my shirt, and I have to really, really like my bracelets to wear them." James nodded.

"No rings?" Lily whined a little. "Like, mood rings or something. Or even just decoration, pretty."

"No. I. I'll wait to wear rings for engagement and marriage." James nodded seriously.

"Books, are a yes?" Lily hummed approvingly. "Could I get you a ball?" Lily whined a little. "What about a little ball and a little quidditch post?" Lily grunted no. "Clothes?"

"No. No. I'm very picky about what I wear. Sometimes I come out of the store with something but I never end up wearing it. It would have to be something that I would obviously wear. You'd have to talk with Marlene, Mary, or my Mum." James nodded.

"Flowers?"

"Um. You'll find this funny. I actually-."

"Hate lily flowers, I know." James nodded his head, but the corner of his lip turned upward at the thought of the lily flower tattooed on the bottom of his foot.

"Oh. Well yeah. But. I love roses. My parents grow them and I've always loved them. They grow all kinds actually, but I've always found a fondness of roses. Not the red ones though. They're too cliché. My parents always send me purple roses because they symbolize magic. I like lavender, it smells wonderful."

"What about handbags?"

"That's a good idea," Lily chirped. "Never thought of that. You know what would be great though. Would be to get a small clutch or something and put an extension charm on it, so I could carry all I needed but I wouldn't have to worry about some big handbag." James hummed happily.

"What athletic things would you want?" Lily laughed like she misheard him.

"What did you say? I'm not athletic."

"So you say, but you once told me you're really a sports fanatic. So what athletic things would you want? Magazines, posters, balls, kits, mini brooms, figurines, that kind of stuff. What would you like?" Lily let out a little defeated huff.

"I'm always fond of a good kit. But the thing is, you don't understand half the sports I love."

"What do you mean?"

"I love football, golf, rugby, tennis, cricket, rowing, ice hockey, basketball, swimming…"

"I know swimming and football and boxing," James defended.

"Yes, but you don't know the others. And I'm not talking recreational swimming, I'm talking competitive swimming. Like football kits are great. I love Arsenal, that's my Dad's team. Basketball's kind of an American thing, but I like it."

"So. You'd want magazines about that stuff. Those kits. Those balls?"

"Hypothetically, yes, but you're not getting me anything."

"Ok. Right now. Hypothetically, what I'm thinking of getting you for New Year's."

"Which you won't."

"Okay, I won't. I'm thinking of getting you a small handbag with an extension charm already on it, so it holds an Arsenal football kit, a Basketball toy thing, and pink if they have those pink roses." Lily didn't say anything, she didn't move. "Lily?" James asked lightly.

"Yeah?" she whispered.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just. Keep talking." James frowned a little wondering what had put her in a funk, but quickly thought of something anything to talk about.

"My Mum gets really excited about Christmas. She goes all out. She decorates a tree, puts holly everywhere, puts up mistletoe you'll want to watch out for that, and everything's decorated. Right now, she's finished most of the downstairs. This morning I finally saw decorations in the living room, where we mostly sit together. We usually have a really big tree in the ballroom, a smaller one but still rather big one in the front hall, one in the living room that's just like tall enough to fit in the door standing up, and then I get a really small one in my bedroom. How many trees do you usually have? Do you have trees?"

"One," Lily whispered. She rested her chin on his shoulder.

"Oh. I'm guessing it goes in your living room. I'm imagining it. Yeah, that'd be cozy and nice. Yeah. During the ball we have house elves. They do the cooking and um… other stuff. I usual have to dance with a few older ladies, dance with a few girls my own age, beg the band to play a newer song, steal a bottle of liquor from the refreshments table, grab someone to take with me, go down to the lake, and spend the rest of the party there. It's okay. More fun with Dorcas and everyone there. Last year Dorcas didn't come. She was quote sick. I don't know. I think she was faking. She's never sick."

James went on to talk about Dorcas and he's childhood and their early friendship. Lily started to laugh a little as he went on. Then his voice got deeper and more gravely and he finally asked, "Do you mind if I stop talking? My voice hurts a little."

"Yeah, go ahead. I. I just asked because I had just remembered I didn't close my bedroom door. Tuney finds it as an open invitation to go in, snoop around, find something to later annoy me with, and then leave it closed so I think nothing's happened. I usually put all my private things away in secret places. She tends to search through stuff though. I once caught her with all my desk drawers pulled out, and she was riffling through my closet. She knows I keep all my magical things in my trunk in the garden shed, and that's Dad's area. No one but Dad goes there. He has it locked and it's a strict rule not to go there. He mostly has wood working tools, a few comic books from way back when they first starting coming out, and a mini fridge full of beer."

"Beer?"

"It's like mead but better." James snickered at that. "Really, it's better. So Tuney can really only get to my letters I write my friends. I keep Polly in my room and she tends to make this weird hoot purr noise when Tuney's been in my room. And the worst part of this, is I didn't hide anything away because I wasn't prepared to. I thought I'd close my door when you'd come get me, but I remembered I didn't. I mean. I had letters from Sirius open on my desk. Just sitting there. Me talking about Tuney and him talking about his parents. He'd given me some advice too. She's going to go to Mum." Lily groaned and pulled her head away from James'.

"Is she mentioned?"

"No. But. Tuney's going to show it to my Mum and she's going to want us to have a mediation. And that never gets us anywhere. She just doesn't want to admit that all our bridges are burned."

"They are?"

"Well." Lily paused and chewed her bottom lip. "Not my sides, but Tuney's. I'd happily go back to being friends. I would always be terrified that she'd turn to hate me, but I'd be really happy if we could just have a nice conversation. Hell I'd be happy if we could sit in the same room for a full hour without having a fight."

"I don't know the full details and you don't have to tell me. But. What does she say to you? Besides, witches should have been burned." Lily shivered a little.

"Well. All kinds of things. She says magic isn't real. I'm actually mentally insane and I'm making it all up, I'm really going to a psychiatric ward whenever I'm at Hogwarts. And that wouldn't be too bad if it wasn't for the fact that she used Mum's books and found an actual mental illness that does that. It's called schizophrenia. They make up these large delusions and they believe it's real. And that's terrifying. Maybe she's telling me the truth." James instantly stopped and turned around. He cupped Lily's cheeks.

"That's not true, Lily. Okay. You're going to hate me for this comment, but your brain couldn't come up with all these things." Lily frowned deeply. "It could come up with almost all of it, but not some of it. Not an ocelot attacking one of your dearest friends, or another one of your dearest friends calling you a racial slur, or four charming boys coming up with elaborate and mind blowing pranks almost but not exactly monthly, or divination something you just don't get at all." He smirked. Lily laughed a little.

"Don't worry, James. I talked to Mum about it. She explained the three types of schizophrenia and how I don't have any of the symptoms of any of the illness. I had to actually come to her about this and talk to her because she's the only person I know who truly understands those things. I tried reading the book but I couldn't really decipher what was what because it was pumped full of medical jargon." James' hands let go of her face.

"So you're okay?" Lily nodded.

"Yeah. I. Just. Petunia comes up with these crazy things that really make me doubt myself. And on top of that she picks at me. She tells me everything wrong with my outfit, my hair, my makeup, my body, the way I talk, anything you can think of she's covered it. I'm too skinny, but I've got too many weird bumps that supposedly are considered curves but only a right idiot would consider those curves. I'm too loud when I get excited and I need to shut up because you're hurting everyone's ears. I'm too quiet and no one hears me but actually that's a good thing because no one cares about my opinion anyways. My eyes look like snot dripping out of a sick nose or a slug that was just squashed on the pavement." Lily took a breath. James stared at her. Her face was cold and unattached to feeling.

"My red hair stands out too much and that will get the attention of serial killers. They'll want to kidnap me and kill me. I'm too tall and guys are much shorter than me and they don't like to get with a tall girl because they have to reach up to kiss her, so I'll never get a guy. My makeup looks like a chimpanzee put it on then decided it needed help and went to an elephant to get some help. I either dress like a hobo who used to have a great life but everyone left because they realized they were friends with a poser or I dress like a slut. I walk like a penguin or a pigeon. I sway my butt when I walk so guys will look at me." Lily rolled her eyes.

"My necks too long and thin when I put my hair up, but my hair down always sticks out like an afro. Which all those things. I mean. I've dealt with this for years and for a long time I thought it was all true. But." Lily looked just above James' head. "When guys started to flirt with me, I figured all those things about my body couldn't be true because why would guys like me, and I told Mary what Petunia said and Mary asked if she could tell Marlene and then they both sat me down and explained what I really look like, how beautiful I am. And I told David, my first boyfriend, those things after a while and he really helped me through it all. I learned to love my body and now I'm comfortable. But with other stuff. Like makeup, I'm sure you've noticed I now only wear a little bit of mascara and a little lip gloss."

"Is that all?" James whispered. He tilted his head and inspected her face a little. Lily smiled.

"Not right now, you twat. I'm wearing nothing." James smiled even more.

"I like it when you wear nothing." Lily's brow furrowed. James shrugged.

"I get so finicky about clothes and makeup and what my voice sounds like."

"Your voice is beautiful." Lily suddenly stopped. She looked in James' eyes. He raised his brow. "It is. It's soft and velvety when you're not riled up, but when you're riled up it's like a lioness's roar mixed with a high pitch ear splitting scream almost, and somehow you still manage to use words. When you have a stuffy nose, there's this croak like a frog's but it's still velvety and soft. It's nice to hear." Lily narrowed her eyes. "No, really. It's nice to hear." Lily smiled a little.

"Thank you. Yours is like drinking coffee early in the morning when it's snowing outside, which is funny because I don't think you've ever drank coffee before but it wouldn't be surprising if you have, I've never really paid too much attention to you. But. Yeah. I think that would describe your voice."

"A metaphor?" James asked.

"Yes, now can we get moving now?" Like poked his chest. James looked down at her finger, then turned around and started moving again.

"My Dad drinks coffee in the morning. It should snow soon. I'll set my alarm early. I'll try it. See what my voice is like." James threw a smirk over his shoulder. Lily laughed and wrapped her arms around his waist again.

"It's nice. Coffee is a strong and a vibrant taste, but it's good, at least to me. It's either really good or really bad for people. Your voice is either really nice or it's really bad, I think it depends on who you're talking to, in fact it's totally depending on who you're talking to. When I hear your voice, I always feel shivers or something so that brings in the cold. The early morning, though. That. I love early morning, but I hate it too. I have to kick myself out of bed, but it's the jumpstart of the day. So early in the morning it's kind of a kick in the arse but for a good reason." James hummed. Lily caught his tune.

" _I love you, baby, and if it's quite all right. I need you, baby, to warm the lonely nights._ " James continued to hum. " _I love you, baby; trust in me when I say._ "

" _Oh, pretty baby_ ," James sang softly. " _Don't bring me down I pray. Oh, pretty baby, now that I found you, stay._ _And let me love you, baby, let me love you_." Lily continued humming and James matched her.

"Frankie Valli and The 4 Seasons' Can't Take my Eyes Off You. Good song." James nodded in agreement. "You know _Your Song_ by Elton?" Lily asked. James nodded with a gentle grunt. "I don't know all the words, but. _It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside. I'm not one of those who can easily hide, Don't have much money but boy, if I did, I'd buy a big house where we both could live_."

" _If I was a sculptor but then again, no. Or a man who makes potions in a traveling show. Oh, I know it's not much but it's the best I can do. My gift is my song, and this one's for you_ ," James sang in a smooth tenor. Lily grinned and placed her head just over his shoulder.

" _And you can tell everybody this is your song. It may be quite simple but now that it's done. I hope you don't mind. I hope you don't mind. That I put down in words. How wonderful life is while you're in the world_ ," Lily sang softly.

" _I sat on the roof and kick up the moss. Well, a few of the verses, well, they've got me quite cross. But the sun's been quite kind. While I wrote this song. It's for people like you that. Keep it turned on_ ," James laughed.

" _So excuse me forgetting. But these things, I do. You see, I've forgotten. If they're green or they're blue. Anyway, the thing is, what I really mean. Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen_ ," she belted in his ear.

Together they sang, " _And you can tell everybody this is your song. It may be quite simple but, Now that it's done. I hope you don't mind. I hope you don't mind. That I put down the words. How wonderful life is while you're in the world. I hope you don't mind. I hope you don't mind. That I put down the words. How wonderful life is while you're in the world._ " James let out a long breath and hung his head a little.

"That was great! You have a good voice," Lily gushed. James laughed and shook his head. "Do you know _Lean on Me_ by Bill Withers?" James nodded his head again.

" _Some… times in our lives we all have pain. We all have sorrow. But if we are wise. We know that there's always tomorrow_ ," he sang. " _Lean on me, when you're not strong. And I'll be your friend. I'll help you carry on. For it won't be long. Til I'm gonna need. Somebody to lean on._ "

" _Please swallow your pride. If I have faith you need to borrow. For no one can fill those of your need_ ," Lily was a bit wary on the words. James nodded his head along though. " _That you won't let show. You just-_."

" _Call on me brother_ ," they sang together. " _When you need a hand. We all need somebody to lean on. I just might have a problem that you'll understand. We all need somebody to lean on._ "

" _Lean on me_ ," James belted. _"When you're not strong. And I'll be your friend. I'll help you carry on. For it won't be long. Til I'm gonna need. Somebody to lean on_." James started to sway a little. Lily clutched him tigher as he made the broom curve slightly. " _You just call on me brother, when you need a hand. We all need somebody to lean on. I just might have a problem that you'll understand. We all need somebody to lean on. If there is a load you have to bear. That you can't carry. I'm right up the road. I'll share you load._ " Lily blinked just now realizing this was one of James' favorites.

" _If you just call me_."

" _Call me,_ " Lily sang softly. James chuckled.

" _If you need a friend._ "

" _Call me._ "

" _Call me uh huh_ ," James closed his eyes and jerked his head.

" _Call me_ ," Lily chirped. James noticed clouds and dove underneath them. Lily stopped singing and held on tight as he made a rather large dive. "We here?" Lily asked.

"Um… just about. Sorry I cut the song short."

"No problem. You do have a nice singing voice. Almost like you've done it before." Lily snickered. James blushed a little.

"When I was little, my Mum would get me to sing for her friends, especially her older ones. By the time I came around her and my Dad's parents had been gone for a long time so they relied on their friends greatly. There was almost always someone at the house once a week to watch me or take me somewhere. But my Mum thought I had a pretty voice because I'd sing to the music she'd play on the piano. So she'd get me to sing for everyone. All the way up until Hogwarts, and even when I came home after Hogwarts. It was just in the past two years that she let me go. She doesn't make me dan. Um. Do any performing." Lily raised one eyebrow at the stumble of words, but didn't say anything.

"So you've always had a knack for performing, huh?" James frowned back at her. "All those times you got crowds to gather around you. Potter, that's performing."

"Yeah. I guess." James shrugged.

"Do you like the attention?" James started to shake his head but he stopped and tilted his head back and forth.

"I don't like the attention, but I like the faces of people when they're smiling and laughing. That's always really nice."

"What about the person who's crying or yelling because you've pranked them or put _levicorpus_ on them?"

"I only use that spell on Snivellus," James snapped. Lily felt her face harden.

"What only torment him on it?"

"It was his spell!" James shouted. Lily paused.

"What?"

"That fucking spell is his. The only reason I know it was because he used it on me and Sirius about fifty times. It took us ages to understand what he was saying because he talks so quietly and mutters a lot. Sometimes he wouldn't say anything he'd do it without words, or maybe he'd. I don't know. But it took us a long time to figure it out so when we finally did we damn well used it against him." James had tightened his grip on the broom.

"And that day we used it on him. That awful day. Yeah, second time we'd ever used it on him. The first time we were surrounded by Slytherins. He actually started shouting at his friends and telling them they casted a spell on him by accident. They quickly let him down but not before we all realized he didn't wear any trousers under his robes. Which, is the weirdest thing in the world. Even girls wear skirts. What if you want to take of the damned robes? Huh? What you just don't?"

"He wasn't expecting that to ever be used against him? That's why he wasn't wearing anything underneath." Lily didn't know what to feel about that anymore. Before she was just angry that the Marauders knew such a spell. She knew Severus had made up spells before but she didn't know he'd made that specific one up. The one used against Mary by Mulciber. "So all his friends knew that spell?"

"By the way he acted, yeah."

"Do you think he'd used it against them?"

"Fuck no. He probably told them so they could use it against unsuspecting girls or something. Do you remember Mary was jinxed by that spell? I was there. Helped her down. Everyone saw her knickers. I felt so bad. I wanted to ask her if she was okay but she just ran away, which was fine. What I would have done if I had been exposed like that."

"You've walked around in your boxers before, Potter," Lily slapped his arm. At Lily's teasing tone, James started to relax a little.

"Yeah for a dare. And I had made sure everything was squished and hidden with tighty whiteys." Lily started to laugh hard. "What? The dare was to walk around in my boxers, never said I couldn't wear something under them."

"Tighty whiteys?" James frowned.

"Well what do you call them?"

"Briefs?" James rolled his eyes.

"Oh! I see my house." James pointed straight in front of him. Lily's eyes widened. It somehow looked bigger than it felt inside. They circled above it before landing in the back again. James uncovered them just before they hit the ground. He pulled it off Lily as he let the broom drop to the ground. "Go on inside. I'll come in after I put this away." He smiled and nodded to the backdoor. Lily looked to it but stuck to James.

"I'll go with you." James frowned for a second before nodding and letting her walk with him around the house and toward a shed closer toward the line of the forest.

"Broom shed, but Dad keeps all the gifts he doesn't like in here. Mum wants him to trash it, so he tells her he did, but really he just stuffs it all in here. That's just on half though. The other half is mine. I keep my brooms there."

"Brooms as in plural?"

"Yeah. I've kept all the ones I've ever gotten." Lily cringed deeply. "Well, what? I've got some of my Dad in me, Evans." Lily sighed.

"The hoarder?"

"I'm not a hoarder. I'm just. I like my brooms. It's a collection. By the way, why did Alice call Peter a hoarder?"

"When has she ever said that?" James opened the door and placed the broom down on a table. He closed the door and came back.

"You don't remember?" he asked. Lily shook her head. "We were going in to the tattoo parlor. She said I shouldn't make fun of a hoarder, but Peter's not a hoarder."

"Oh. Well pack rats tend to collect odds and ends and keep them forever. She probably assumed that was why you called him a rat because he hoarded things." James' lips made a o and he nodded.

"If only she knew the truth," James laughed. "By the way, what does your tattoo mean?" He pointed to the little black line on her finger.

"It means." Lily twisted her mouth. "I. I don't want to say."

"Why?"

"It feels like it could be taken away if I tell someone, especially if they spread the word. Then. Someone. Someone could get rid of it and the whole point of this tattoo is for me to always have it." James nodded. They walked in silence for a while before James turned to her.

"You know you can trust me, right?"

"I think." Lily nodded her head. "It's coming." She smiled tightly at him. He smiled broadly back, but it didn't reach his eyes. He wanted her to trust him in that moment.

…

 **Thank you to all who read! Special thanks to people who reviewed, favorited, or followed. Reviews make me remember people like this story, so they are extra special.**


	31. Chapter 31

…

James' Eyes

…

"Mum! Dad!" James shouted walking through the door with complete comfort. Lily stepped cautiously.

"I read your note, James," Euphemia said calmly in the kitchen. She was looking over a piece of parchment. There was a teacup next to her and she was pointing her wand at it. "Is Sirius okay? I made him his favorite tea. I got his room cleaned. Does it usually take that long for you to go and get back? Did you stop?" She spotted Lily's hair first. Lily cringed with a smile. Euphemia paused and stared at her for a moment. "Lily!" she suddenly exclaimed. She opened her arms. Lily watched her for a moment. James nudged her back then Lily was enveloped in Euphemia's arms. She was warm, soft, and completely comfortable. Lily sunk into. "What's your favorite tea, sweetheart?"

"Um… I like black tea with half milk and three sugar cubes." James pulled out a new teacup from the cupboard.

"I'll make it extra weak, just for you, Lil." James looked up at her and winked.

"Oh, Jamie, it's so much faster if you let me use magic." James looked up at her and his grin deflated a little. "I'll make it extra weak too." Euphemia unwrapped Lily from her arms and started to wave her wand around the kitchen. Tea leaves came out, water appeared, and before long there was a weak looking black tea in the primrose painted teacup. Then a jet of milk came out of nowhere and then three sugar cubes plopped in it. Euphemia nodded to it and Lily pulled it into her hands.

"Let it cool," James warned. "You always burn your tongue." Euphemia flicked her eyes over to her son. She watched him stand there with his arms perched across his chest and his chin a little high in the air. Then she looked over at Lily. Lily had her head bowed, but her sparkling green eyes were sending what could only be a death glare James' way. Lily proceeded to take a sip of the tea, suck in a breath, smack her lips, and close her eyes. "I told-."

"James, pumpkin, can you go get your father? I want his opinion on this list of meats." James quickly closed his open mouth and moved out of the kitchen. Lily had shuffled closer to the chair sitting at the table. "Go on and sit down, sweetheart," Euphemia said lightly. Lily smiled thankfully at her and took a seat. She looked at the small door James had left from. "James seems to think he knows you well." Lily laughed lightly.

"Oddly, he does." She wrinkled her nose a little. Euphemia tilted her head.

"Oddly?" Lily took a breath and look to the side slightly, keeping her head down. She started to rub at the edges of the table, keeping one hand cupped around her tea.

"It seems as if he's known me for years and I'm just getting to know him." Lily let out a breathy laugh.

"Well he, according to Sirius, has been um…" Euphemia ran a tea cloth down the table as if there was something to clean up. "Watching you for around six years, going on six." Lily furrowed her brow. "You know his father was the same way." Lily looked up at her. "Fleamont and I knew each other through work for years and years. Now when I say knew each other, I meant on a name and maybe one sentence of personality. Fleamont however knew all these things about me. It was like he had been my best friend for years. He knew how I took my tea, my favorite people, what I needed after something traumatic happened, what I needed when I was mad, how I'd react to something he'd do, and so many other things." Euphemia smiled at her memories.

"How did you handle it?" Lily looked back at the door.

"James will be gone for a while. He knows he's not supposed to come back unless he has his father, Fleamont's at a friend's house for another few minutes." Lily nodded and let a breath loose. "I did not handle it well. I got angry and short with him. And this was when he was finally starting to try and become friendlier with me. I. It was overwhelming the amount he knew and I didn't. I felt like he had the upper hand."

"But he does, doesn't he?" Euphemia gave a little smirk.

"He has been gathering this information for so long, and now he's putting himself on the line to see how you take it, if you really would take the time to let him teach you all the things about him. Fleamont eventually, in the midst of me throwing childish jinxes because he'd brought me my favorite flowers when I had specifically told him to leave me alone and to stop giving me stuff, he yelled all he wanted to do was to teach me stuff about himself." Lily smiled wide.

"Well, that got my attention and I. I asked to know a few things about him in that moment and then I no longer felt like a right idiot. We moved on from there. We were in a." Euphemia paused. "I never know what to call this stage. We were going out lots, talking lots, but we weren't doing anything intimate not even a kiss on the cheek. But we were not just friends. Between the two of us, we call it our preshow. After a few weeks of getting to know each other better, we started to date. And from then its history."

"Did you ever question your feelings for him?" Lily asked quietly. Euphemia picked up the tea cloth and rubbed down on the table a little bit.

"I did. At first I. The one sentence of personality was he's stubborn, decisive, and passionate in an odd combination that makes him seem aggressive. So when he came on friendly as can be, I knew he was looking for a relationship and I thought only bad things could come of that. So I ran away from it. I tried my hardest to say no. But you have to know, Fleamont in his day was good looking. So I had attraction to him. But he started to be this friendly guy and I liked him, but I was scared he'd backtrack and turn into that aggressive man. So for a long time, even as we were doing our preshow, I told myself this was just a test, we were just friends, I would get to know him and he'd be my new best friend. I wasn't lying to myself I was just telling myself what I needed to, to not run away." Lily nodded and looked deeply into her tea.

"I um… I have a boyfriend right now," she supplied feeling obligated.

"I was dating an older man when Fleamont came on friendly. I dated this man right up until I realized I was practically dating Fleamont and I needed to break it off. Now you and James are not Fleamont and I. James is a lot like his father, but he is very different too. James has a lot of me and a lot of his upbringing in him. His friends have changed him for the better, I think. He feels a sense of place with those three boys, a home. He will always have a home and feel at home with Fleamont and I, but I am beyond glad to know he has a second home to turn to."

"For years I thought the glue of them all was Remus. But… I see now it's Po- James. He keeps them all sane, I think. I know he's Peter's guide and he keeps Sirius mellow, and he keeps Remus happy. I know Sirius and Remus would continue to be friends if James wasn't there, but I don't know how Peter would fit in. Maybe Remus would coach him through, but he wouldn't be as good. Remus would rather follow Sirius than coach Peter."

"Peter's the follower?" Euphemia frowned. Lily nodded.

"Yeah. He's got his own traits that come up when you least expect them to. He's loyal, very loyal I think. He makes sure James has an audience, Sirius has something to get his irritations out on, and he makes sure Remus actually pays attention to Sirius and James." Euphemia leaned her elbows on the table.

"Really?" she whispered. Lily nodded her head.

"Remus keeps everyone in control. He sets up boundaries they can't cross, and they don't cross them. He…" Lily furrowed her brow a little. "He gives them something to fight for, something to love for, something to protect, and something to cherish. Even though I didn't know the reason for a long time, I knew it was him who gave them those things. It was the way he pulled them back and reigned them in. It was with a wiser hand. A hand that had been through the struggle before and knew when to stop letting it out and to let it consume you inside instead of out." Euphemia's brow was furrowed and her lips downturned.

"Sirius is and will always be the wildcard of that group. But he is more loyal than any of them, maybe. He and James are. Definitely. Sirius brings the amusement. All four of them tend to need something to do otherwise they're a large pain, but Sirius finds what they do. He figures it out and brings it to them." Lily rolled her eyes and chewed her bottom lip. "They are a home for themselves. Everyone's always been jealous of that aspect of their friendship." Lily smiled sweetly.

"Are you having trouble with James?" Euphemia said deciding to go to a topic she thought she could be of help with. Lily paused in her motions. She took a sip of her now cool tea and looked up at Euphemia as she did so.

"No. We're friends. He's helping me out today. We haven't decided what he gets in return, but-."

"He doesn't need anything in return for this, Lily. This is what friends do for other friends. They help when they are in need and all they expect in return is for that friend to be there when they have their own time of need." Lily sighed softly and thought about that.

"He deserves something." Lily shrugged. "But I'll keep that in mind."

"I found him! Mother, you made me go get him when he was out of the house. He just apparated into his office two minutes ago." Euphemia smiled evilly.

"Lily, dear," Fleamont declared. He held out his hand. Lily took it. He kissed her fingers. "Thank you. Now. Would you like a house tour?"

"I've already had one." Lily looked to James a little worried.

"He means of the Christmas decorations," James supplied. Lily nodded.

"The whole house?"

"Let's just do the ball room and the front hall, Dad," James suggested.

"Alright. But we must go out and see the front of the house. Your mother put so much work into it." James nodded and motioned for Lily to go ahead of him. Lily walked on ahead, but kept looking back for him.

"What did you say to Lily?" James whispered fiercely at his mother.

"We just talked, James," Euphemia said calmly.

"No. You wanted time alone. What did you say to her?"

"I told her about how your father and I became friends and then how we became a couple. Nothing big." James knitted his brow and flashed a look up to Lily. She had just turned her head to face forward once more.

"Why?" James whispered.

"She seemed like she needed some information about how Potters go about things." Euphemia nodded her head front. James noticed Lily was again turning her head forward.

"Potters go about things? What do you mean? Why are you being so cryptic?"

"I'm not being cryptic, James. I'm giving you the information you are asking for. Lily seemed to be a little confused as to why you knew her so well, she seemed unsure of where you two stood. I told her-."

"You didn't tell her I liked her, did you?" he snapped. Euphemia looked at him with wide eyes.

"Why on earth would I do that? That would have not helped anyone." Euphemia huffed and started to walk faster. James kept up with her.

"I just needed to know. Did she ask about me? Did she say anything about… that kind of thing?"

"She said she had a boyfriend. It seemed she felt obligated to tell me that. Now, I suggest you go spend time with her. She seems lonely." Euphemia pressed on James' back. James noticed once more Lily was turning her head forward.

"Sorry about that," he laughed as he fell into step with Lily. Lily smiled over at him.

"Your mum was very nice." James smiled.

"What did you talk about?" He looked both ways trying hard not to seem as if he was dying to know every word of their conversation.

"Um… we talked about you and Remus and Peter and Sirius. How _you_ keep the group together."

"No, Remus keeps us together. I thought after last spring you would have figured that out." James furrowed his brow.

"Well Remus gives you all a purpose. But you keep them all together, James. You keep them all sane. You've never seen them when you take those rare days in the hospital wing. Peter is left rather alone, he tries to tag up with Sirius, but Sirius gets short with him. Sirius gets up to trouble with some girl or he's glaring at Slytherins while he's sitting next to Remus who is suddenly burying in a book. Which only happens when all three of you are busy doing something not remotely dangerous and he can sit back and relax. Eventually Sirius goes and does something to the Slytherins but because he's alone he's unfit to take them all on. So Peter tries to help out, but he's out for the count really early because we both know he's too scared to actually do harm, because without you he doesn't feel properly protected. Remus finally comes in and tries to get Sirius to bail, but he doesn't have you there to give an approving nod so he doesn't bail and he gets injured or detention."

"They don't fall apart," James scoffed.

"James, they don't completely fall apart. They're always loyal to one another, but they don't glide as well without you." James huffed and scratched his nose on his sleeve.

"Is that all you talked about?" He looked to the walls of portraits.

"We talked about your parents and how they came to be, well the beginning at least." James nodded.

"What did you get from it? I always get nothing. It's a weird love story. But sweet. Kind of creepy of my Dad though. But when he tells it, it's much less creepy. He just. She always caught his eye and he always remembered the details without trying too hard. It just kind of happened naturally to him. She took it completely the wrong way." James laughed. "But then in a screaming match she figured out he just wanted to be her friend and he could care less about anything romantic. So they became great friends. Then one day, on a bridge, after Mum broke up with her boyfriend, she asked him if Dad would mind a kiss, and he said he'd love one. And that's how they came to be." James smiled.

"That's sweet. I didn't know that." James nodded.

"Yeah. And everyone around them were all like it's about time you two got together. It's about time you dumped that sorry boyfriend. It's about time you made it official." James laughed loudly. "It was like everyone around them knew and they just or rather she just didn't figure out the pieces." Lily frowned slightly at the story. Seeing similarities in her and James' story. But as Euphemia had said, they weren't the same story.

"Here we are, the ball room," Fleamont exclaimed. He raised his arms and then quickly wrapped them around Euphemia. With a flick of his wand music was playing. "James, Lily, would you mind joining a happy old couple in a dance?"

"Sure," Lily murmured. She grabbed James' hand and he quickly wrapped his free one around her waist. They just swayed instead of doing a proper dance like James' parents. Lily rested her chin on his shoulder. "It's weird how similar your parents' story is to our story." James' eyes almost fell out of his head.

"You mean?" he started.

"That everyone thought they should be together, that he naturally without thinking catalogued everything she did, that she wanted nothing to do with him at first, and being friends. But… like your mum said, I don't think it will be the same story. I mean, yes I have a boyfriend and I know Eli and I won't last too long."

"Does he know that?" James said strictly. "Are you just playing with him?" _To get away from me_ , he thought. Lily frowned and she jumped away from her shoulder so she was face to face with him.

"No. He knows we're nothing serious. We're just comfort. We've both said we'll probably break up before the end of school, and if we don't we'll break up before summer starts. I'll actually be a little surprised if we don't break up right when we get back to Hogwarts."

"After this holiday?" James asked.

"Yes. I'll be pleasantly surprised but still surprised. It's not like we let each other goggle other people or date other people, we're a couple, but we both know it's not forever. At least, I'm pretty sure. I cannot imagine living with Eli." Lily cringed. "He gets on my nerves after a while. And I just need to get away from him. I'm glad he's not in our house because I think it'd drive me nuts."

"Then why are you together?" James asked. _To get away from me, right?_ He thought.

"I'm. I feel." Lily sighed trying to think of the words as they swayed. James stared at her face trying to pick up something anything hinting at her reasoning. "I'm at a point with my emotions and my thoughts where I need basic comfort from somebody. And I get comfort from Marlene and Mary, but I want someone I can kiss and someone that can hold me, and Eli can give that to me. I don't want anything big. I'm actually scared at the moment of anything big. And anything beyond what Eli and I have is too much." James' frown deepened and deepened.

"That's…" James bowed his head. "That's very mature to realize." Lily hummed.

"It's taken a lot of talks with my Mum, Dorcas, Alice, Mary, Marlene, one odd one with a drunk Theodora, a few with David, a really long one with my Dad, and a lot of time thinking, but I think I'm starting to make more mature decisions. Even if this one looks immature when you don't know the reasons behind it." James nodded solemnly.

"When do you think you'll be ready for something bigger?" He flashed her his eyes. Lily let her feet shuffle on their own and she just let the dark chocolate of his eyes melt into her system.

"I don't know. I'll figure it out at some point. Face my fear, maybe." She gave him a little smile.

"Lily, are you invited to our shindig?" Fleamont asked. "It would be a shame to not have her Euphemia. She's such a wonderful dancer." Lily's cheeks pinked. James smiled down at her.

"Wonderful pair you two make," Euphemia said watching them sway with an intent eye on their feet. Lily's cheeks darkened slightly. Euphemia whispered something in Fleamont's ear. Fleamont hummed in agreement. "James, honey, do a quick foxtrot with her. Lily, will you be able to manage?"

"Yes." James started to lead her in the dance and Lily as promised didn't miss a beat. After the song rounded to an end, they released each other and bowed to applause. Euphemia whispered one more thing to Fleamont, Fleamont smirked at her and gave her a wink then turned around.

"Out to see the house from a view, then you kids can get up to something while us old folks mess around with the menu for our shindig. Which you are welcome to come, I believe." Fleamont led the way to the front hall. There was a massive tree standing beautifully decorated. Lily watched in awe as they left through the front door.

"You'll get to see the lake," James murmured. She looked over to him noticing he was close enough to whisper to.

"Ah yes, the lake. Does it revival the Black Lake?" Lily giggled a little.

"No, no. But it is a nice swim, in the summer. Iced over now. We could ice skate but I don't think my Mum's would fit you. She's got small feet and you, while you're dainty, you're not a small footed creature."

"So now I'm a creature, huh?" Lily teased.

"A witch is a form of a creature."

"Hmmhm." Lily twitched her lips to the side and back again. The lake was small, closer to a pond than an actual lake as she could see the forest on the other side, but it reached around the property nicely. They walked down a short field toward the lake before turning to see the house in all it's glory. Lily noticed little candles floating just outside each window, reaves hung about, and holly on the front door. "You said to be wary of mistletoe. Where is it exactly?" Lily murmured to James.

"That's the trick. It floats around to the two people with the most chemistry." Lily frowned deeply. "Don't worry. Mum and Dad tend to only enchant it to do so during parties." Flemaont and Euphemia started to walk in. "Was there anything specific you wanted to do while you had your day of magic?" James walked as if he was on a tightrope.

"I'd like to watch your mum make dinner, but other than that. You choose." James huffed.

"We've got a few hours still before dinner. You want to visit the local magical comic book store?" Lily looked excited for a moment but shook her head.

"They're all about werewolves, dragons, wizards, witches, and things we learn about right?" James nodded sadly. "Then I'd rather go someplace else. What other stores does your local wizarding town have?"

"We've got the usual. A pet shop, a pub, a grocery store, a liquor store, a convience store, a book store, and a Seer."

"None of that sounds appealing. What do you usually do for fun?"

"Well. I read comic books, Muggle and wizard ones, I visit Muggle towns, I swim in the lake or ice skate on it, I go to the gym and practice, I fly around, I let the snitch loose and try and catch it, I go to the boxing center and practice, I workout, I listen to the wireless, I read some books, I do my hobbies, and I mostly relax."

"But how do you relax when you have no telly?" James chuckled.

"I read mostly. Anything I can get my hands on."

"What are your hobbies?" Lily started to walk slowly to keep in time with James' invisible tightrope.

"Danc-." He cleared his throat. "B-boying, I guess I now collect Muggle comic books, quidditch, gymnastics or tricking mostly, boxing." He shrugged.

"Nothing like building model airplanes or tinkering with something?" James tilted his head side to side. "Is that a yes or a no?"

"I tinker with my brooms. I don't know, Evans, when I'm alone with all this and I'm too exhausted to do anything physical, I pick up a comic book or an actual book and I read."

"That's all?"

"Yes. Do I not have enough hobbies or something?" James snapped.

"No. It's just. I never really thought about what life without television would be like. At school I'm usually so bombarded by school work, social life, tutoring, getting some cardio in, doing my exercises at night, Slughorn's parties, Eli, I mean. I don't have time to think about television. Then I come home and all that stuff's gone and it's my go to." Lily shrugged.

"So television is your hobby?"

"No. My comic books, I run but I prefer to swim, I play the guitar, and I write a lot of letters. I would like to have my old muggle friends but Petunia kind of ruined those friendships. It didn't help that all of them realized Snape was strange."

"So you have no friends back home?" Lily pursed her lips.

"I. I can get away with playing a round of football on the street or skateboarding with the guys, and I'm friendly and chat them up about life, but I can never get away with asking them over to my place or going over to theirs or really ever leaving the street."

"Well at least you've got people. You saw this place from above." He opened his arms and motioned to the house. "I'm sort of isolated. The nearest town is the muggle one that's five minutes away on broom, ten on foot. The wizarding town's a twenty minute flight. My old Muggle friend, I told you about." He scrunched up his brow at Lily. Lily nodded. "She was the closest neighbor. But she moved a few years ago. And an older couple came in. So." James shrugged.

"At least you have the floo so you just go to Remus or Peter's."

"Yeah, but. I have to send a letter and ask. Peter's been ignoring my owls. I think he's still upset. It's not like I did it on purpose. I just… didn't want to tell my mum the bad truth about me." He shrugged. "I've tried to explain him. He's taken one of the six letter's I've sent."

"That's good. Is Peter one to hold a grudge?"

"Not that I know of. I mean. He's really only had one to hold against Slytherins, I think." James frowned.

"Well." Lily shrugged. "What can we do?" She smiled thinly at him. James twisted his lips and looked around as he thought for an idea.

"We could go to the attic and try and find a boogart." Lily weighted the options with her shoulders before shaking her head. "We could fly to the muggle town and walk around under my invisibility cloak picking up things and scaring people." Lily cringed. "We could go up to the roof and set off some fireworks." James raised his brow and smiled a little.

"You've got fireworks?"

"Loads of them in Sirius' wardrobe." James grinned evilly. Lily nodded her head.

James set off toward the stairs. He led her down a series of hallways before stopping at a door and opening it. Inside she recognized the Jaws poster and realized this was Sirius' room. James quickly opened the wardrobe and pulled out a few boxes. He then led Lily down some more hallways until they reached a door thinner than all the others. He yanked it open and started up the squished staircase.

"Don't you have to tell your parents?" Lily asked as James walked over to a window and pushed it open.

"Well. They'll hear it, but they'll just assume I'm impressing you." James chuckled. He tossed the boxes of fireworks up and over onto the roof.

"How do we get onto the roof?"

"Well." James laughed breathlessly. "We have to shimmy up a drainpipe."

"What? We're three stories high!" Lily started to back away.

"No. It's fine, Lily. I've done it millions of times. Sirius' done it. I've taken a girl up here before. Sirius has taken two up. I used to do this when I was four all the time. You'll be fine. It's sturdy, built with magic, remember? And if you fall."

"There's a chance?" Lily asked as if James' idea was insane.

"Not really, but you look really worried so I'm saying, if you fall, which you won't. But if by some awful miracle you manage to fuck up climbing up three feet of drainpipe, I've got my wand on me. I'll make your landing nice and soft." He winked.

"Can-." Lily held out a hand to stop him from going up just yet. "Can I watch you go up then come back down? So I can go before you?" James sighed.

"Really I don't think it's that hard, Evans. I'll show you and once you see it's so easy, you'll not want me to come back down." Lily narrowed her eyes. "Look," James huffed. "I'll come back down if you really want me to, but… I don't think you will." Lily stuck her head out the window and James climbed up. He disappeared over the edge of the rooftop. Lily tried it herself and despite the shaking from fear of dropping she made it. James grinned at her. Lily grinned back. She opened her mouth but just as she was going to speak a firework popped off.

Their firework display was nice. James made Lily lay on her back to fully enjoy it as he put it. Lily rolled her eyes but followed his instructions. Fleamont stuck his head out a window on the second floor and shouted for them to come down for dinner eventually. James went down first again telling Lily she'd find it easy. She did not. Her foot holes were not as easy to find as they were last time. She slipped a few times and her heart was about to pop out of her chest by the time she had reached the window.

"I told you it was easy," James said smiling as Lily clambered in through the window.

"It was not easy, Potter! I almost fell like five times," Lily shouted pointing at the window. James' eyes widened. "And you weren't even looking, you bastard." James' brow furrowed.

"Bastard!? I would have heard your bloody screams if you fell and I would have saved you." Lily laughed coldly.

"Yeah, right," she spit.

"I bloody well heard all that swearing!" James snapped. Lily's eyes narrowed.

"I can't see how any four year old without a major brain issue would ever climb up that ruddy pipe. Must have had issues, right, Potter?" she said with masterful distain.

"If you call no fear and a lot of accidental magic, issues, then yeah, Evans," he bit back. "But you must not have had that no fear issue, right?"

"Bloody fucking cunt, you telling me I'm not in the right house?" She gripped his shirt. James giggled at her.

"Like yours during your period, Evans?" he chuckled. Lily growled at him.

"You belong in Slytherin, Potter," she seethed. James stopped laughing and sucked in a breath. His eyes narrowed. The usual dark chocolate of his eyes misted with gray edges.

"Take it back," he ordered. The corner of Lily's lip curled upward. "Take it back, now, Evans," James barked.

"What if I meant it, Potter?" The way she said his name brought goosebumps over his back.

"You didn't, now take it back," he said smoothly. Lily raised her brow.

"Oh, how are you so sure?" she sang. James covered her hands with his. Her grip on his shirt loosened. Her eyes almost faltered.

"Because you'd never sink that low," his voice was gravely but honest. Lily's eyes jumped from his two.

"What if I just did?" she was no longer teasing him.

"Take it back," James ordered again. James pulled her hands off his shirt. She let them fall to her sides. They stared at each other. James was unrelenting. Lily was unsure. Lily's stare finally fell to his shoes.

"Didn't mean it," she whispered. James didn't smile though. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her down the stairs.

"Hungry," he stated just barely a hint of lightness in his voice. Lily looked up at him with astonished eyes. "My Mum makes an excellent apple crumble, you know that? Fudge too, but I really love her apple crumble." He smiled back at her and let her wrist go.

"Is that what she's making?" Lily asked lightly.

"Don't know what she made. Just saying." He shrugged. Lily nodded and followed him through the maze of his home.

…

 **Thanks for reading!**


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